


How to Marry a Millionaire

by QuirkyGirl22



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-23
Updated: 2013-02-17
Packaged: 2017-11-19 07:37:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/570797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuirkyGirl22/pseuds/QuirkyGirl22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bella, Alice and Rosalie are three friends in thankless, dead-end jobs.  When they met Edward, Emmett and Jasper, they believe they've met their Prince Charmings.  Finding out their Prince Charmings are actually millionaire business men, however, is a whole 'nother ballgame...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Some Days are a Total Waste of Make-Up

     Bella tried to ignore the headache that bloomed behind her eyes as the mother on the other side of the desk explained that it couldn’t _possibly_ be her little angel that had defaced the library book with a red crayon.  The little angel beside her grinned evilly.  “I’m sorry, ma’am,” Bella tried again, “but the library has a strict policy regarding destruction of its property.  As the book was in your care when the incident occurred, it makes it your responsibility.”

     “But I just told you, my little Johnny couldn’t have done it.  I refuse to pay for the damages.  That book’s probably been defaced for years, and if you think you can scam _me_ out of paying for it, well, you’ve got another thing coming!”

     Bella massaged her forehead.  “Perhaps you would feel better dealing with the head librarian,” she sighed.

     “Fine,” the woman huffed.  Bella stuck her head into the tiny office Ms. Smith occupied.

     “Ms. Smith?”  The older woman looked up.  “There’s a patron trying to return a damaged book.”

     “Did you explain that she’ll need to pay so we can replace the book?”

     “Yes ma’am, but she claims that her son didn’t damage the book, so she shouldn’t be expected to pay for it.”

     Ms. Smith narrowed her eyes.  Pushing the chair away from the desk, she headed towards Bella.  “Don’t worry about it, dear,” she said as she drew even.  “I’ll take care of it.  Why don’t you take your lunch hour now?”

     “Sure thing, Ms. Smith.  Thanks.”  Bella sighed in relief as Ms. Smith marched off to deal with the indignant mother.  It might not have been the mature thing to run off to her boss, but hell, they didn’t pay her enough to be mature.  They barely paid her enough to be immature.  Besides, Ms. Smith had a talent for dealing with difficult patrons.  It was a bit like watching Betty White cuss.  You were too shocked to hear those words coming out of that sweet grandmother mouth to mount much of a campaign.  Grabbing her purse from the coat rack beside the door, she headed out to the doors.

     Once outside, she flipped open her cell and pushed the button to connect her.  She listened to it ring, and then heard, “Bella, oh my god.  Please say you’re calling to tell me that you’ve won the lottery and are generously sharing it with your friends and we’ll never have to work again.  _Please_.”

     Bella laughed.  “Sorry, Alice, no such luck.”

     “Well, damn.  What are you calling for then?”

     “I’m on my lunch break.  I was wondering if you wanted to meet up.”

     A sigh came through.  “Can’t.  Megan’s _sick_ again.  We’re understaffed.  I probably won’t even get a lunch break today.  But, if you want to pick me up something and drop it off at the store, I wouldn’t say no.”

     “Sure.  Any request?”

     “Surprise me.  Hey, why don’t we meet up at Joe’s tonight?  The way my day’s going, I have a feeling I’m going to need a drink.  Or several.”

     “Sounds good.  I’ll call Rose.  See you in a few.”

     “See ya.”

     Bella hung up and dialed Rosalie’s number.

     “Bella?  What’s up?”

     “Doing anything after work?”

    “Negative.  Why?”

    “Alice wants to meet up at Joe’s.”

    “That sounds perfect.  After the day I’ve had…”

    “You too?  That’s all three of us then.  Hey, are you doing anything for lunch?”

    “Yeah, fixing Mrs. O’Leary’s brakes.  She rides them like an old lady.”

    “Um, Rose?  She _is_ an old lady.”

    “That is no excuse.”

    Bella laughed.  “All right, I’ll let you get back to it.  I’m picking some food up for Alice.  You want anything?”

    “Nah, I’m good.  See you at Joe’s.”

    “See ya.”  Bella hung up and headed towards her car.

 

~oOo~

     Later that evening, the three friends sat at one of the patio tables outside of Joe’s.  “So, this guy is flirting pretty heavily with me, right?” Rose was explaining.  “I’m not interested, but you can’t just tell off a customer.  Well, I could, but Kyle wouldn’t like it.  And since he’s the first decent boss I’ve had in a while…” Rose shrugged.  “So Kyle comes out of the back and tells the guy his car is ready.  The guy pops the hood and looks at the engine as if he knows what the hell he’s looking at.  He’s all ‘yeah, this looks really good’ and crap.  Anyway, Kyle’s tells him, ‘yeah, Rosalie’s one of our best mechanics.’  Then, the guy gets all pissed off and yells at Kyle, ‘you let a _chick_ look at my car?’  So, Kyle gets pissed and tells the guy he’s welcome to take his business elsewhere.  Which, of course, he does.”  Rose looked pretty pissed herself.  “I’m just so sick and tired of guys thinking I must not know a damn thing about cars just because I have a vagina.”

     “It’s not that, Rose,” Bella corrected.  “It’s because you’re gorgeous.  Let’s face it.  Girls that look like you don’t usually work in garages fixing cars.”

     A heavy sigh escaped Rosalie.  “Maybe.  But that guy was still an asshole.”

     “Oh, yeah.  Huge asshole.”

     Alice giggled.  “Seems like there were jerks abound today.”

     “Oh?  What happened to you?”

     “Oh, God!  I had to wait on the most horrible bitch…  So, we’re already short-staffed because Megan was _sick_ again.  Right, if she was sick, then I’m Vanna White.  Anyway, this woman comes in, and I’m all like ‘Hi, my name is Alice.  How may I help you?’  Well, she goes on this tirade about how she knows what she wants and doesn’t need me trying to sell her a bunch of last year’s knock-offs.”

     “Seriously?”  Rose interrupted.  “Alice, you work at a store that advertises ‘fashion for less’.  Last year’s knock-offs are _all_ you sell.”

     “I _know_!  Anyway, she picks out the most hideous things I’ve ever seen.  I mean, they are truly hideous.  Moreover, every time I try to suggest something that might be vaguely flattering on this bovine, she flips out!  It was the longest time of my life, and I’m including that holiday season that I worked as an elf in Santa’s village.  But finally, _finally_ , this woman is done.  I’m helping her load up to take her shit up to the register, and do you _know_ what this bitch does?  She turns to me and says that she hoped I had been paying attention, because if I’m going to work with designer clothes, I should know what I’m talking about.”

     “That bitch.” Rose said, disgusted.

     Bella reached over and patted Alice’s hand.  Its ok, Alice.  It’s just further proof that money doesn’t buy taste.”

     Alice snorted.  “You got that right.”  Just then, a limo glided up outside of the hotel across the street.  The three girls watched in silence as the occupants exited.  There were four of them, three men and a woman.  They paused for a minute or two, and then two of the men went into the building.  The third man escorted the woman, a beautiful strawberry blonde wearing an obviously expensive dress, into the hotel.

     Rose leaned back in her chair.  “What does she have that we don’t?

     “Well, for starters,” Bella said, “him.  And a bank account with more zeros then the national debt, probably.”

     “Access to beautiful clothes, beautiful cars and beautiful men.” Alice sighed.  “Lucky bitch.”

     “One day, that’s going to be me.” Rose told them.  “I’m going to be the one being escorted into a fancy hotel by a gorgeous guy.  And when that happens, I’m taking the two of you with me.  The three of us have dealt with enough crap.  It’s about time something went well for us.”

     “Yeah,” Bella agreed.  “If life was fair.  But it’s not, Rose.  If life were fair, I’d be writing books instead of loaning them out to patrons that don’t appreciate them.  Alice would be designing the clothes instead of selling them.  And instead of working in a garage, you’d have your own, packed full of expensive cars.”

     Rosalie glared.  “Don’t be a bitch, Bella.”

     “I prefer the term “realist”.”

     Rosalie stuck her tongue out at her.  Bella laughed and flicked water in Rose’s face.  “Real mature, Rose.”

     Rosalie sniffed and stuck her nose in the air.  I prefer the term ‘full of child-like wonder and whimsy‘.”  This statement caused the girls to break out into gales of laughter.

     “Excuse me.”  Bella wiped tears from her eyes and looked up at the waiter standing by their table.  He sat a glass of wine in front of Rosalie.  “This from the gentleman at the bar.”

     All three girls turned towards the bar.  A sweaty, balding man in an ill-fitting suit waved at them, giving them what he thought was a charming grin.  “Why that scummy piece of trash…” she tensed and was about to rise from the table when Alice laid a hand over her wrist.

     “Calm down, Rose.”  Alice raised her eyes to the young man.  “You must be new.”

     The waiter looked surprised.  “Yes, ma’am.”

     Alice frowned and handed the glass of wine back to him.  “Take this back to Romeo over there and tell him that the young lady is flattered, but she already has a boyfriend.  Then, go back and ask Joe to explain the ‘No bringing drinks to Rosalie’ rule.”  She fixed him with a gimlet-eyed look.  “Got that?”

     The waiter visibly swallowed.  “Yes, ma’am.”  Picking up the offending glass, he headed back to the bar.

     Alice withdrew her hand from Rosalie’s wrist.  “Damn, Rosie.  Bite the guy’s head off, why don’tcha.”

     Rose relaxed back into her seat and picked her drink up.  “I come here to relax and hang out with my friends,” she told Alice.  “Not to get picked up by losers in love with my tits.  And don’t call me ‘Rosie‘.”  The girls sat in companionable silence for a few minutes until the man from the bar approached their table.

     “Hello, girls!” he said in an over-exuberant manner.

     “Back off, asshole,” Rosalie snarled.

     “Aw, don’t be like that, sweetheart,” the man pouted as he invaded Rosalie’s personal space.  “I saw you checking me out when I was at the bar.”  He was too busy leering down the front of her shirt to see the anger rising in Rosalie’s eyes.

     Bella, however, was fully aware of the imminent danger.  “I’m going to go get Joe,” she told Alice, who nodded in agreement.

     “If he doesn’t back off, I’m going to Mace him,” she told Bella, holding up the little can of Mace she’d dug out of her purse.

     Unfortunately, neither Alice nor Bella had a chance to put their plans into action.  The man, full of liquid courage, decided that the fury on Rosalie’s face was really desire for him and reached out to grab a handful of Rose’s breast while simultaneously trying to stick his tongue down her throat.  The dam holding back Rosalie’s rage broke.  Wrenching herself away from the man, she cocked back her fist and slammed it into the man’s nose.  There was a horrible crunching sound and blood erupted from the wound.  Alice then stood up from her seat, took aim, and sprayed the man directly in the eyes.  The man, reeling from both the fist to his nose and the Mace to his eyes, swung his arm back, inadvertently backhanding Bella across the face.  “You son of a bitch!” Rosalie screamed after seeing the man accidentally strike her friend.

     Realizing that Rosalie was in full fury mode, Bella reached out and snagged the man’s collar.  She intended to pull him away from her friends, but her old foe, gravity, struck in the same moment.  Bella’s foot caught on the table and both she and the man fell to the floor.  The man, still not sober despite the broken nose and the Mace in his eyes, decided Bella’s breasts were just as good as Rosalie’s and proceeded to grab a bruising handful.  “Hell with this,” Bella decided aloud, and brought her knee up between the man’s legs, knocking his balls into his throat.  She had the satisfaction of seeing the man’s eyes roll back before he collapsed on top of her.

     Joe quickly arrived, flanked by two burly staff members, and the men pulled the drunk off Bella.  While his employees drug the unconscious man off, Joe apologized to the three girls.  They followed him to his back office to wait for the police and fill out a report.

     Nearly an hour later, the girls were free to leave.  “Well,” Alice stated as the three of them left the bar and walked to their cars.  “We might not have millions of dollars and a car for everyday of the week, but at least we can say our lives are interesting.”

     “Alice,” Bella replied as Rosalie glared at the smaller woman, “shut up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick clarification on the girls' jobs:
> 
> Bella - Librarian  
> Alice - Salesperson  
> Rosalie - Mechanic


	2. Mandatory Fun

Edward, Emmett and Jasper kept to themselves as they watched over the social gathering. “Man,” Emmett moaned after drinking deeply from his beer, “why are we here?”  
“Because we have to be,” Jasper answered.  
“Damn,” Emmett replied. “I was really hoping that you were going to say I didn’t have to and I was free to jet.”  
On Emmett’s other side, Edward rolled his eyes. “Do you really think any of us would be here if we didn’t have to be?”  
Emmett took another healthy swallow from his glass. “If we’re stuck coming to these things, the least they could do would be to liven them up a little.”  
“I’m not sure the older patrons could handle your idea of livening things up, Em.” Jasper patted the other man on the shoulder.  
“That’s why I said ‘a little’,” Emmett replied. “Last thing I need is for one of these old bats to start a campaign against me. I just got them calmed down about the last one.”   
Edward let out a real laugh over the memory that Emmett invoked. “By the way,“ he asked, “why am I the only one with a date? Weren’t you two going to bring someone?” Edward turned to better face Jasper when the other man let out a humorless snort. “Whatever happened to that blonde you were seeing?” he asked Jasper. “What’s her name, Lisa…Linda…”  
“Lauren?” Jasper shrugged. “Got a little too clingy. Started thinking she was going to be the next Mrs. Whitlock, you know?”  
“Aw man, do I.” Emmett groaned.  
“Come on now, Em.” Edward chuckled. “We all know you didn’t go around with that Jessica girl for her brains.”  
“Hey, Eddie, even the dingy ones can start seeing McCarty after their name. After a couple bouts of great, mutual satisfying sex, she starts rattling off about who she’s gonna invite to the wedding.” He shrugged. “I was out of there as soon as I found my pants. Why do girls have to ruin a perfectly good sexual relationship with talks of marriage?” Edward and Jasper laughed at the look on Emmett’s face.  
Tanya glided up to the trio, her stunning gown molded to her body and showing off her curves. “Edward, they’re going to serve dinner soon. Why don’t we take a turn around the room first?”  
“Maybe later, Tanya. Emmett, Jasper and I are going to step out for a quick smoke before they lock the doors and start begging money off us.”  
Tanya chuckled. “Well, make sure you’re back before the auction starts. I know how much you’d hate it if that volume of poems slipped through your hands.”  
Edward pulled her close and deposited a kiss on her temple. “Will do. See you in a bit.” Tanya smiled at him over her shoulder as she moved away.

***

“Why can’t more girls be like Tanya?” Emmett asked as the three men smoked in front of the building.  
“What do you mean, Em?” Edward asked.  
“Well, you’ve been with Tanya for months now, and I haven’t heard her utter one word about marriage.”  
“She’s probably smart enough to realize that Edward’s the marrying kind. And, that he’ll pop the question eventually if she waits long enough,” Jasper answered.  
Edward frowned but was saved from answering as two police cars pulled up in front of the bar and grill on the other side of the street. “Wonder what happened over there,” Jasper mused as he took a drag on his cigarette.  
“Nothing to do with us.” Emmett crushed his own cigarette in an ashtray. Ignoring the excitement across the street, the three men reentered the hotel.

***

The men returned in plenty of time. Breaking off from his friends, Edward scanned the well-dressed crowd. He easily located Tanya, who was conversing with a lovely larger woman. The woman’s two companions, a hard-faced man and little woman with bouncing red curls, completed the group. Edward moved up to them and slid his arm around Tanya’s waist. “Told you I’d make it,” he murmured in her ear before smiling at the others. “Siobhan, it’s lovely to see you again.”  
The other woman smiled. “Edward, dear boy, I was just telling Tanya to pass along my felicitations to her sister. I understand Kate is getting married.”  
“Yes,” Edward confirmed. “Garrett’s a great guy. He’ll make Kate happy.”  
“At the rate you and Tanya have been going, I’ve no doubt you’ll hear your own set of wedding bells in the future.”  
Edward smiled easily through the mild panic that crept up on him. “Ah, but Liam’s already taken you off the market. What’s a man to do but moon around in unrequited love?”  
Siobhan blinked in surprise before breaking out into loud guffaws of laughter. “Oh, you are a charmer, Edward,” she chuckled. Her Irish accent gave the words a musical sound. “Just like your father. That man could sell blarney better than anyone in Ireland could. How are your parents these days?”  
“They’re doing well. And how have you been?”  
“Fine, dear boy, just fine.” She looked over her shoulder at her husband as Liam touched her arm and gestured to their table. “Well, it looks as if the auction is about to start. Do tell your parents I said hello!”  
“I will,” Edward promised as the group moved off. Placing a hand on the small of Tanya’s back, he guided her to their table.

***

Over the next few hours, the occupants of the room dined on rubbery chicken and spent thousands of dollars on unnecessary items. Edward was successful in winning the volume of poems he had been interested in. Tanya outbid another woman on a small sculpture. Jasper purchased an ancient pair of dueling pistols. Emmett, to the group’s surprise, passed over a painting of a naked woman and instead bought a large woodcarving of a bear done by an Appalachian artist.  
“No paintings of naked women, Em?” Edward teased.  
“I can get the real thing whenever I want it, Eddie. However, maybe _you_ should have bought it. You could have used it for instructional purposes,” Emmett returned.  
“Oh, I think Edward’s had all the instruction he needs in that area, Emmett,” Tanya interjected, “but I wouldn’t be adverse to a little ‘Teacher, may I?’” Edward choked on his drink as his two friends laughed at him.  
“Tanya…” he mumbled.  
“Oh, Edward, get over yourself,” Jasper smirked.  
“Yeah, Eddie, chill.” Emmett grinned broadly, before turning back to Tanya. “I know where you can get your hands on a schoolgirl outfit if you’re interested.”  
Tanya laughed softly and winked. “I’ll think about it.”  
“Knock it off, you three,” Edward scowled. “Let’s talk about something else.”  
“All right, all right. Since Edward wants to be a prude about it…” Emmet grinned at his scowling friend, “Let’s talk about the weather. The five day forecast calls for temperatures to stay in the mid-seventies with a small chance of rain later on in the week. On the other hand, we could talk about politics. Like how our state legislature caved to the pesticide industry’s pressure by removing hazardous pesticides from the program to eliminate toxic chemicals from the environment. Or we could even debate the latest Hollywood scandals. How _will_ Tiger handle being out of rehab?”  
“I think the real question is how his wife is going to handle it.”  
“Oh, please,” Tanya scoffed. “Thirteen women coming forward and admitting to sleeping with him? You can’t tell me she didn’t pick up on something.”  
“Yes, but how many did he really sleep with and how many are using this for their fifteen minutes of fame?” Jasper queried.  
“Yeah, because that’s what a girl dreams of being famous for.”  
“Hey, some people will use any opportunity they get.”  
Leaning towards Tanya, Edward whispered, “I can’t believe you’re actually debating this.”  
“Can you think of anything else to talk about at these gatherings?” she asked back. To his friends, she said, “the question of mistresses aside, what’s going to happen now that all of his sponsors have dropped him?”  
“Just goes to prove that image is everything,” Jasper said, leaning back in his seat.  
“That’s a very cynical way of looking at things,” Edward admonished.  
“Cynical, but true.” Jasper leaned forward and propped his elbows on the table. “Think about it. The man was considered one of the greatest golfers, his sport’s golden boy. All the sudden he’s not so golden anymore, and nobody wants anything to do with him. Moreover, it’s not just the media. Look at Emmett. He’s young and handsome with tons of charm and cash.”  
“Can’t argue with the truth,” Emmett agreed, toasting Jasper.  
“And even though he does things that are considered a little scandalous sometimes,” Jasper continued, “he’s forgiven quickly enough. What did that gossip rag call you, Em?”  
“The bad boy of high society.” Emmett scowled into his glass. “Quite possibly the dumbest nickname in the world.”  
“But even Emmett couldn’t get away with, say, marrying a stripper and trying to bring her into society. She could be a saint of a woman. She could spend her weekends volunteering in a soup kitchen, or bringing blankets to the homeless, and the majority of people would turn their backs on her because she takes her clothes off for money.” Jasper shrugged before taking a drink. “You can call me cynical, or antisocial, or anything else you can come up with, but the sad truth of the matter is that the world and our social circle especially, are ruled by what other people think.”  
Silence descended on the table. “Well,” Tanya slid her chair away from the table and stood, “I hate to remove myself from such a cheery topic, but if you will excuse me…”  
Edward waited until Tanya had walked out of hearing range before leaning towards Jasper. “What the hell is wrong with you? Is Maria starting her shit again?”  
“She can’t have been so foolish as to believe that we were just throwing around empty threats,” Emmett added.  
“No, it’s not Maria.” Jasper ran a hand over his face. “I just saw Peter and Charlotte a little while ago, and then with all the talk of public image, I got carried away.”  
“Yeah, well, cool your jets, man.” Emmett leaned back. “You keep freaking out and people are going to start poking around. It’s the whole ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire’ deal. Besides, we took care of Maria. She’s got too much self-preservation to piss us off.”  
“I hate to admit it, but Emmett’s right. She’d never take the risk.” Edward squeezed his friends forearm before leaning back. “Now, what do you say about blowing this joint, dropping Tanya off, and hitting the club?”   
Jasper smiled. “Why don’t we go to Emmett’s instead? He’s got better alcohol and we can get as drunk as we want.”  
“Ah, a man with a plan.” Emmett toasted Jasper again with the last of his drink. “I’m looking forward to it already, because next weekend’s going to suck hard.”  
“Oh? Why is that?” Edward regarded his big friend.  
“Oh, I got sucked into attending Newton’s party next weekend. Don’t ask me how it happened, I still haven’t figured it out.” Emmett’s lip curled. “I can’t stand the little piss ant on the best of days. The best I can figure is that he sprung it on me when I was drunk and I foolishly agreed.”  
“Foolish is right,” Jasper agreed. “We all know the kind of people that hang out with Newton. To say nothing of the ‘ladies’ that attend.” Jasper lifted his hands to make air quotes. “Well, enjoy yourself!” He pasted a big, cheesy smile on his face and gave Emmett exaggerated thumbs up.  
Emmett pointed at Jasper. “You’re an asshole.” He turned to Edward. “Come on, Eddie. Don’t hang me out to dry on this.”  
“Don’t do it, Edward,” Jasper warned.  
“As my friend, you are morally obligated to attend suck-ass parties with me,” Emmett declared. “So is Jazz, but he’s being a dick-weed.”  
“That’s right,” Jasper confirmed. “I’m evoking the ‘suck-ass party is being hosted by an annoying sycophant’ clause in the friendship agreement.”  
“All right, children,” Edward ran a knuckle down the bridge of his nose. “We go, we stay an hour, tops, and then we leave, buy enough alcohol to erase the party from our memory and Emmett picks up the tab. Deal?”  
“Deal.”


	3. Business Cards and Manicorns

            The noise of the garage drowned out Rosalie’s muttered curse as she finally won her battle with the car’s brake pads.  Rolling out from under the vehicle, she pushed a couple of loose strands of hair away from her face before levering herself up onto her feet.  She spotted Alan over by the Coke machine as she massaged the muscles in her neck.  “Alan!” she called out, pitching her voice over the din, “grab me a diet, will ya?”  He turned his head in her direction briefly before flashing a thumb up to let her know that he’d heard her.  Walking over to her tool case, she began wiping down and replacing her tools, stopping only when Alan set the Diet Coke next to her.  “Thanks,” she told him, rising and twisting the cap off.  She took a long drink before continuing.  “I’ll get you next time.”

            “Eh, don’t worry about it.”  Alan took a drink from his own Coke.  “Heard some ass got upset that you’d worked on his car.”

            “Yeah, well, what are you gonna do?” she asked, taking another drink.

            “Don’t stress yourself, kid.  We know you do good work, and that’s all that matters.”  He punched her gently on the shoulder before moving off.

            Taking another swallow of her drink, she turned back to her tools.

            “Hale!”  The sound of her name being called stopped her in her tracks.  She saw Kyle standing just outside his office.  Curious, she walked over to him.

            “Hey, boss.  What’s up?”

            “Hey, kid.  You, ah, remember that guy that was bothering you and your friends at Joe’s a couple nights ago?”

            Brow furrowed in confusion, she answered, “Yeah, what about him?”

            Kyle scratched the side of his head.  “The guy’s boss is in my office right now.  He would like to speak with you.  I’d told him that I’d have to check whether you wanted to talk to him or not.”

            Leaning to look through the window, Rosalie spied a generically handsome man sitting in Kyle’s office.  “What does he want?”

            “No clue,” Kyle shrugged.  “Want me to send him on his way?”

            “No, I’ll talk to him.”  Rosalie moved to walk around him, but Kyle stopped her with a hand on her arm.

            “You want me to stick around?  In case he tries to cause trouble or something?”

            Rosalie smiled at the fierce expression on Kyle’s face.  Built like a linebacker who time had finally caught up with, Kyle possessed wide shoulders, muscular arms and only a slight softening around his middle.  He was also married to his high school sweetheart of twenty-five years and the proud father of their three children.  He was, undoubtedly, one of the sweetest men Rosalie had ever known.  “I’m sure I’ll be fine, but thanks for the offer.”

            He frowned.  “I’ll be close, just in case.  If he tries to get you to sign anything, you holler for me, understand?”

            “I understand.”

            “I don’t care for men who think they can have their way with women, and I certainly don’t care for anyone who tries to help those men out.  So if he tries to get you to recant or something, you just yell for me or one of the other guys and we’ll deal with him, all right?”

            “Don’t worry, if he doesn’t act like a perfect gentleman, I’ll scream like a little girl.”  She smiled reassuringly as she walked away to enter his office.  Upon her entrance, the man stood smoothly, his gaze moving over her.  She didn’t react.  She was used to people checking her out.  ‘Can I help you?” she asked instead.

            “Hello, you must be Rosalie Hale.”  He offered his hand.

            “Yes, and you are…?”  She left the question hanging as she shook his hand, noting the softness of his hand and the weakness of his grip.

            “So sorry,” he smiled.  “My name is Michael Newton, of Newton’s Outfitters.  Perhaps you’ve heard of me?”

 She refused to let him see that he had surprised her.  “I’ve heard of Newton’s,” she replied coolly, and watched his smile dim a bit.

            “Yes, well.”  He notched his smile back up.  “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here.  You see, when I paid my employee’s bail, he told me how sorry he was and how much he regretted his treatment of you and your friends.”

            “I’m sure he did.”

            “When I went to the restaurant the incident occurred at, the proprietor informed me that one of the young ladies worked for his brother.  I came right over, wanting to offer you my humblest apologies.  Both on my employee’s behalf, and my own.”

            “Right, apology accepted.”  Rosalie turned to the door.  “Unless there was something else you’d like to speak to me about, I’m afraid I have to get back to work.”

            “Actually, there was something else.”  He waited until she turned back to face him.  “I’m having a party this weekend.  It would mean a lot to me if you would attend.”

            “I don’t think…” Rosalie began, but he interrupted her.

            “Of course, your friends are invited as well.  I meant this as a way to apologize to all three of you young ladies.”  Withdrawing a gold card case from his jacket’s inside pocket, he extracted a card and handed it to Rosalie.  “This is my number and address.  Please say you’ll attend.”

            “I suppose we could,” she agreed.  “But I’ll have to talk to my friends before I can say for sure.”

            “Of course,” he agreed.  “Give me a call and let me know as soon as you can, won’t you?  I have many influential friends, and I know they would just love to meet you.”

            Rosalie shook his hand again before exiting the office.  After reassuring Kyle that Newton hadn’t tried anything, she headed back to her station.  There, she studied the card Newton had given her, and debated on what to do.

 

***

 

            Bella and Alice were nowhere to be seen when Rosalie let herself into Bella’s small apartment.  “Bella?  Alice?” she called out as she kicked off her shoes and dropped her purse on the floor, “where are you guys?”

            “We’re in the kitchen, Rose!” Bella’s voice answered.

            Stepping around the separating wall, she spied them.  Bella stood at the stove while Alice leaned against the back wall, her eyes on the fashion magazine in her hands.  “You guys are never going to believe what happened to me today.”

            “You fixed Kellan Lutz’s car and he asked you to run off with him and be his personal masseuse,” Alice said without looking up.

            “No, but Jackson Rathbone did ask me to be his one and only groupie,” Rosalie quipped, well aware of Alice’s not-so-secret crush on the actor/musician.  Alice flipped her off, her gaze never leaving the page.

            “Knock it off, you two.”  Bella admonished them.

            Stepping behind Bella to see what the other woman was stirring, Rosalie spied-  “Chocolate?”

            “Fondue,” Bella answered.  “The pizza will be here any moment.  Get down a bowl, will you?  I asked Alice, but she’s too busy committing the latest styles to memory.”

            “As if I needed to,” Alice said, finally closing the magazine and tossing it on the counter.  “Whatever happened to sparkle?  Whatever happened to flair?  Nowadays, the only style is the one that has already been done.  Whatever happened to taking risks and pushing the envelope?”

            “Gone the way of the dodo, I’m afraid.”  Rosalie set the bowl down by Bella.  She thought back to the card in her purse.  “Hey, guys…”  A knock at the door interrupted her.  “That’ll be the pizza.  I’ll get it.”

            Later, after they had demolished the pizza and were dipping various fruits into the bowl of melted chocolate, Rosalie tried again.  “You guys remember the pervert from Joe’s?”

            “Yeah, why?”

            “His boss came to see me at the garage today.”

            Alice scowled.  “What did he want?”

            Rosalie shrugged.  “He said he came to apologize.  He invited us to a party he’s having this weekend.”

            Bella and Alice shared a look.  “Did you say yes?” Bella asked.

            “Kind of, but I said I had to talk to you two first.”

            “I don’t know, Rose,” Alice said.  “It seems kind of weird.”

            “Alice is right,” Bella agreed.

            “I thought so, too.  It’s just that…”

            “What?” Bella asked.

            “There’s going to be a lot of people there.  Wealthy, well-connected people.  Attending could work to our advantage.”

            “That’s a good point,” Alice agreed with her.

            “Alice?” Bella questioned.

            “Think about it, Bells.  We’re not likely to get this kind of chance again.  We should take advantage of it.”

            “I suppose.”  Bella began worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, a sure sign she was uneasy.

            “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to, Bella,” Rosalie told her.

            Bella released her lip.  “No, you’re both right.  This is a once in a lifetime chance.  We should take it.  Besides, we’ll be together, so it’s not like anything bad will happen, right?”

            “Right,” Alice confirmed.

            “Right,” Rosalie echoed.  “I’ll call Newton now; let him know we’re coming.”

 

            After getting a few details from Newton, Rosalie, Alice and Bella spent the rest of the week shopping.  Or rather, Rosalie and Alice shopped, and Bella was shoved into dressing rooms with clothes thrown at her.  After finding dresses, the girls bought shoes and had their hair trimmed and their nails done.  “This party had better be worth it,” Alice declared, “because I am officially broke.”  She flopped onto the couch, throwing her arm over her eyes.

            “Ditto.”  Bella collapsed into the nearest chair.  “I can’t remember the last time you two had me shopping like that.”

            “Angela’s wedding,” Rosalie informed her, naming a friend of theirs.

            “Oh, yeah.”  A dreamy look stole across Bella’s face.  “Angie made such a beautiful bride.  She practically glowed.  Moreover, when Ben finally saw her walking up the aisle, he looked at her as if she was a dream come true.  What I wouldn’t give for a man to look at me like that.”  She sighed.  “He’d be gentle, loyal and trustworthy, and he’d greet me everyday with a kiss.”

            “Jesus, Bella,” Alice said, pushing herself up on her elbows, “you just described a Cocker Spaniel.”

            “Did not!” Bella protested.  At Alice’s raised eyebrow, Bella retorted, “very well, Mary Alice, what kind of guy is your Dream Man?”

            “Hmm, let me see, _Isabella_.  He’s gorgeous, of course.”

            “Of course,” Rosalie approved as Bella rolled her eyes.

            “And he’s tall…oh!  And he’s got a fantastic body.”

            “Alice, if I described a dog, you just described a Ken doll,” Bella said, derisively.

            “Trust me,” Alice replied with a wicked gleam in her eye, “any guy I hook up with will most definitely _not_ be a Ken doll.  “Not unless they’re making them anatomically correct these days.”  Alice and Rosalie both laughed at the hot wash of color that flooded Bella’s cheeks.

            “Seriously, Alice,” Bella spoke again, “looks aside, what do you want in a guy?”

            Alice dropped back down onto her back.  “I guess I’d want someone who could keep up with me.  He would have to be cool with me talking his ear off whenever I get in a chatty mood.  He would also need to let me express myself when the creative spirit overtook me.  I think the perfect guy for me would be another artist.  Not necessarily someone who designs clothes, but like a painter or a sculptor, so he could understand my artistic temperament.”

            “I’d need a metrosexual,” Rosalie decided.  Someone who would understand my desire to look my best.”

            “What you would need, Rose, is two bathrooms,” Bella laughed.

            “Better make it one huge bathroom; otherwise they’d never see each other!” Alice added, joining in.

            “Go to Hell,” Rosalie told them without heat.  “I’m serious.  I could never end up with one of those jock type guys.  I mean, could you imagine me curled up with a book or something while hubby dearest watched the game?”

            “Maybe the two of you could work on cars together,” Bella suggested.

            “More like he’d flip out if she so much as picked up the keys,” Alice argued.  “Rose is right; she needs a guy that understands the importance of the social scene.”

            “Well, that party _is_ coming up.  Maybe we’ll meet someone there.”

            “Maybe,” Alice muttered, more to herself than them.

            “Yeah,” Rose said, softly.  “Maybe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is a Manicorn, you may ask? They are mythical beings that are exactly what a woman wants when she imagines her ideal boyfriend. They live near rainbows and enchanted lakes.


	4. Why Are We Here? Pt. 1

            “Edward?”

            “Hm?”

            “Why are we here?”

            “Because Emmett is an asshole who evoked the ‘friends don’t let friends suffer alone’ clause.”

            “Ah.”

            “Yeah, so now we’re stuck here.  Don’t drink anything a girl hands you.  It’s probably teeming with STDs.”

            “We should stop hanging out with Emmett when he’s drinking.  I’m sick of getting roped into this dumb shit.”

            “Good idea.  I am, too.”

            Emmett glared at his friends.  “I’m standing right here, you jackasses.  I can hear you.”

            “Good, you were suppose to.”  Edward gave a cold look to yet another female partygoer before turning his back on her.  They had only been at Newton’s party for about twenty minutes, and already he’d had more numbers offered to him then he could remember.  He was not alone in being hunted, either.  Emmett and Jasper had both fended off their share of wannabe companions, and the three men were now standing together on the fringes of the party.

 

***      ***      ***

**EmPOV**

            Emmett scanned the room.  He wasn’t exactly a squeaky-clean innocent, but even he had limits, and Newton had blown past them.  He observed a few couples that were well on their way to getting to know each other better, as well as one couple that was taking advantage of a semi-darkened corner.  _Damn, Newton!_ , he thought.  _Classy operation!_   Continuing his perusal of the room, he paused when a flash of pink caught his eye.  Looking back, he found himself pleasantly surprised.  A tall, generously curved blonde in a silky, hot pink dress stood against the wall, talking to two other, shorter women.  He couldn’t have described her companions if his life had depended on it.  His eyes were glued to the blonde.  “Check out the babe over there,” he told Edward and Jasper, angling his chin towards the bombshell.  “I’ve never seen her before.”

            Edward slid his eyes over the women.  “Trust Emmett to find the most beautiful girl in the room,” he said.  “That’s a gorgeous shade of green on her.”

            Emmett frowned in confusion before realizing the one of the shorter women, the one with long brown hair, was wearing a green dress.

            “She is very attractive,” Jasper confirmed, “but I don’t think she was the one Emmett was talking about.”  Emmett was just about to concur when Jasper continued.  “The tiny one in the blue number with the black belt is the hottest thing I’ve seen in a while.”

            Looking back at the women, Emmett confirmed that, yes, the shorter of the other two women was wearing a bright blue dress with a black belt.  “Are the two of you _blind_?” he groused.  “I’m talking about the stunning blonde in the pink!”

            His friends glanced back at the women.  “Oh, yeah.”

            “I didn’t notice her.”

            _Didn’t notice her?_   His mouth dropped open in shock.  “How could you _not_ notice her?” he asked, his voice fierce.  “She’s sex on legs!”

            “Look, Emmett, she’s good-looking, but I don’t think-”

            “Hey, guys!”  Newton’s voice cut through the fledgling argument.

            “Hello, Newton,” Edward replied, smoothly, while Emmett fought not to pummel the little pipsqueak and Jasper regarded him with a stony look.  _How did I get sucked into agreeing to come here again?_

            “I’m glad you came.  I didn’t know if you’d remember about it, McCarty.  You weren’t exactly steady on your feet when I invited you!”  Emmett gritted his teeth as Newton chuckled over his own idiot observation.  _That’s it_ , he decided.  _I’m never drinking again_.

            “Megan’s right over there,” Newton went on, calling attention to an attractive brunette standing against the same wall as the other three women.  Suddenly, the details clicked in Emmett’s head.  _He’d been flirting with Megan when Newton had come up to the bar.  Newton and Megan had started discussing Newton’s party and Newton had invited him.  He had been turning Newton down when Megan had started pleading with him to attend._

_That’s it_ , he decided anew. _I’m never drinking again.  Also, I’m bailing if I even get a hint that a woman knows Newton._

            “Say, Newton,” Edward cut in, “we were curious as to who those three young ladies are over there.  I don’t remember seeing them around.”  Emmett bit back a smile.  He really admired the way Edward could talk people into doing what he wanted.

            “Oh, those girls?”  Newton visibly preened over having information that Edward wanted.  “They’re particular friends of mine.  Knock-outs, aren’t they?”  He buffed his nails on his shirt before examining them.

            _Particular friends?  Translation: he’s slept with them._   The thought of the blonde having sex with Newton brought a sour sensation to his stomach.  “All three of them, Newton?” he asked, hoping that the answer would prove the blonde had better taste.

            “Yep.  Not many men could handle three lovely ladies, but what can I say?  I was up to the challenge.”  He leered conspiratorially at the group, and it was all Emmett could do to keep from putting him through the wall.

            “Excuse me,” he said, harshly.  “I think I’ll go and get another drink.”  He left his friends who peered after him with worried expressions and made his way to the bar.  He had already poured two fingers of scotch before he remembered his resolution to quit drinking.  “Fuck it,” he muttered.  He’d start tomorrow.

            “Excuse me?” a feminine voice spoke up from behind him.  Clutching his drink, he turned and prayed that the speaker wasn’t the person he thought it was.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t.  Instead of the blonde, it was her tiniest friend, the one in the bright blue dress.

            “Nothing,” he told her.  “I was just talking to myself.”

            She laughed, a tinkling, bell-like sound.  “Don’t worry, I do that all the time.  It’s the only way to get the answers I want.”  Amazingly, Emmett felt his lips curving in an answering smile to her grin.  “I’m Alice Brandon,” she introduced herself, holding her hand out.

            “Emmett McCarty,” he returned, shaking her hand.  For such a small woman, she had a firm grip.

            “McCarty, McCarty, McCarty…” she mumbled over and over to herself, not looking at him.  Quickly, her gaze snapped back to his, her eyes bright.  “Now I remember!  You’re the C.E.O. of that new car company.  One of your sports cars was named Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine.”

            “Yeah.”  Emmett was in shock.  “You read Motor Trend?”

            “Nope,” she admitted.  “I only know about that stuff because my friend, Rosalie,” she turned slightly and pointed, “loves cars.  She’s the only girl I know who has both _Vogue_ and _Car and Driver_ on her coffee table.”

            He chuckled, his eyes following the direction of her finger until it rested on- _no way!_ \- the blonde bombshell he’d been admiring before.  “ _That’s_ your friend who loves cars?”

            “Yep.”

Peering around her, her caught sight of Edward’s scowling face as the man first tilted his head at Newton, then at Alice.  Emmett’s brow furrowed in confusion before he felt a wave of understanding.  _How could you have forgotten, even for one minute, that these women were ‘particular friends’ of Newton’s?_   Emmett chastised himself mentally.  _Talk to them, be polite to them, but do_ not _allow yourself to become sucked in!_   “Well, I enjoyed speaking with you, but I’m afraid I have to step away.  Forgive me?”

            Alice was visibly surprised.  “Huh?  Uh, yeah.  I really should go and find my friends.  Nice meeting you, McCarty.”

            “Yourself as well, Miss Brandon.”  As Emmett headed toward Edward, another girl, the one in the green dress and long brown hair, hurried past him, heading towards the hallway.  Newton was practically on her heels, with Edward scowling after the pair.  “Where’s Jazz?” Emmett asked, once he was standing next to Edward.

            “He thought he saw a friend of his and went to say hello,” was the reply.  “What were you and Newton’s friend talking about?”

            Emmett raised an eyebrow at his friend’s tone.  “Her name is Alice Brandon, and we actually didn’t talk that long.  She recognized my name from the Motor Trend magazine.”

            “Careful, Em.  I’m sure there’s nothing one of these women would like better than to sink her claws into money.”

            “Jeez, Eddie, jaded much?  You’re getting as bad as Jasper.  Don’t worry about me, I can handle myself.”  Edward rubbed his knuckle down the side of his nose, a clear sign that he was agitated.  Also, he hadn’t corrected Emmett’s use of his much despised nickname.  “Hey, Edward, are you all right?”

            “Hm?”  Edward’s response was absent-minded.  Then, he seemed to shake himself.  “Yeah.  Yeah, I’m fine.  Sorry, Em.”

            “Hey, no worries, bro,” he answered as he scanned the room for Jasper.

            “I’m going to go outside for some air.  Do you want to come with me?”

            “Hm?”  Emmett redirected his gaze.  “No, go ahead.  I’m going to go and try to find Jazz.”  Edward shrugged before heading off, leaving Emmett to continue scanning the crowd.

            Emmett was a tall man, as was Jasper, but he still found it difficult to locate the other man.  Emmett searched for long minutes before finally locating him.  He was talking to the girl who had run into the hallway earlier, the brunette in the green dress.  Emmett shook his head.  He knew he didn’t have to worry about Jasper getting sucked into hooking up with one of the girls.  Jasper had been badly burned and, as a result, had sworn off the opposite sex.  As for Edward, even if the man was interested in another female, he would never betray Tanya.  No, the only one who was in danger of getting trapped was him.  He couldn’t help it, though.  For all of his faults, Emmett loved women.  He loved the way they were so different from him.  How soft and curvy they could be.  He loved the way their minds worked, how they could be sweetness and light one moment, and trying to claw your eyes out the next.  Regardless of shape, size, age, race or religion, Emmett just plain loved women.  _And that’s gotten you in trouble on more then one occasion._   He looked back towards Jasper and saw that his friend was alone.  Holding up his hand in the universal ‘wait a minute’ sign, he started towards the doors in order to find Edward.  He tried looking for Edward’s distinctive red-brown hair, but the lights were too dim.  He’d only taken a few steps more when a small bundle in green threw itself at his feet.  He reached out instinctively, only to realize that he’d caught the girl he’d seen talking to Jazz.

            “Oh, for Pete’s sake…” the girl mumbled.

            “Are you all right?” he asked.  She raised her head from where she’d been adjusting her dress.

            “Yeah, I’m fine.  Just utilizing my mad trip-over-nothing skills.”

            He laughed at her self-deprecating humor.  “I saw you talking to my friend earlier.”

            She turned and looked over her shoulder.  “Jasper?”

            “Yeah.  Every time I see you, you’re somewhere different.  You’re like a ninja.”

            She laughed.  “I think being a ninja requires a lot higher skill level then I currently possess.”

            “Ah,” he adopted a pseudo- wise expression, “isn’t that what a ninja would say?”  She giggled.  Sweetly and honestly _giggled_   It was… charming.  “I’m Emmett McCarty,” he introduced himself.

            She tucked her long hair behind her ear.  “I’m Bella Swan.”  They shook hands.

            “So, Bella,” he asked, looking up from her to examine the room, “I spoke with one of your friends earlier.  Alice Brandon?”

            “Oh yeah,” she laughed.  “I saw you two over at the bar.  I guess she made an impression?  Alice always does.”

            “She made an impression,” he agreed, “and so did you.”

            “Me?”

            He turned his gaze back to her.  “I saw you run past me after I was done talking to her.”

            She looked upset and confused.  “O…kay,” she drawled the word out.

            “Yeah, and I saw Newton hot-footing it after you.”  He looked down into her wide eyes.  He didn’t really want to do this.  Hurting a woman in any way was against his creed.  But Edward had been furious as he watched this woman hurry off with Newton, and it was bros before hoes and all that.  “Then I saw you later with Jasper.  You and Newton did quick work.  Or was he not in the mood and you were scoping someone else?”

            Her chin dropped and she stood with her mouth open in such a comical look of shock that he almost started second guessing himself, but she quickly recovered and a look of black fury appeared.  She was quivering in anger.  And then, to his eternal surprise, she drew back her fist and punched him hard in the shoulder.  “You asshole!” she barked out before hurrying away.

            He rubbed his shoulder as he watched her depart.  Her fury had been a physical thing, and he had the sickening belief that he had just stepped in it.  Jasper joined him, his face a mask of confusion.  “Hey,” he greeted Emmett.  “What was Swan all pissed off about?”

            “Hey. I, uh, may have implied that she was a whore.”  He rubbed the back of his neck.

            Jasper spun on him, his eyes wide.  “You did _what_?”

            “Yeah,” Emmett admitted.  “I thought I was helping Edward out, but now I’m thinking I just screwed the pooch.”

            Jasper raked his hand through his hair as he turned back to stare into the crowd.  “Man.”

            The two of the stood side by side in silence until Edward approached them a couple minutes later.  “Hey,” he greeted, looking from one man to another, “what’s up?”

            “Nothing,” Emmett said.

            “If that’s what you want to call it,” Jasper muttered under his breath.

            “What was that?” Edward asked.

            “It was nothing,” Emmett insisted again.  “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here.”  He led the way to the door.

 

***      ***      ***

 

**EPOV**

 

            Edward scanned the room, trying to keep his lip from curling in disgust at the antics of the room’s occupants.  If it wasn’t for the deep sense of brotherly love he felt for his friends and a desire to help Emmett out of a jam, he never would have gotten within ten feet of the place.  He debated if he could spend the rest of the time in a corner being antisocial.  Probably not.  His mother had installed too many good manners in him.  Hence the reason he was standing in the middle of a party he didn’t want to be at, listening to the host, a man he really couldn’t stand, blather on and on.

            Michael Newton had approached Emmett, Jasper and him earlier, while the three of them had been arguing about a trio of goddesses on the other side of the room.  Emmett had fallen into immediate lust with the gorgeous blonde whose body was designed to bring men to their knees.  Jasper had wanted the tiny sprite with the pixie cut hair and a mischievous grin.  As for himself, he had been entranced by the lovely angel with softly curling brown hair and pale, moonlit skin.  It was at this time, when the three of them were at the beginning of an argument over which woman was the best looking, that Newton had struck and quickly reminded them why they disliked him.  First, he’d laughed like a jackass over Emmett’s drunken acceptance to the party invitation.  Then, he’d declared the three women that had interested them were, in fact, _particular friends_ of his.  Lastly, he’d confirmed that _particular friends_ meant exactly what they thought it meant.  Newton’s confirmation had apparently been the last straw for Emmett, who had spent the entire conversation looking like he’d enjoy nothing better then beating Newton to a pulp.  Emmett had headed off to the bar, leaving Jasper and Edward to deal with Newton.  Of course, this move had Newton believing that Emmett was jealous.  That had been the final straw for Jasper, who used the flimsy excuse that he had seen a friend of his and was going to go talk to them.  So now, Edward was all alone with Newton, who was droning on and on about something or other.

            “Mmm hmm,” Edward mummered, noncommittally.  He watched Emmett at the bar.  As Emmett finished pouring his drink, the tiny woman in the bright blue dress approached him.  Edward felt his lips lift in a grin at the picture they made as Emmett towered over the tiny woman.

            “Ah, looks like Emmett has company.”  Newton’s voice intruded on Edward’s musings.  “That Alice is a fa-reek!  And a real wild child in the bedroom, if you know what I mean.”  _And how was I supposed to misinterpret that?_ Edward wondered.  He looked away from the pair at the bar and was arrested by the sight of his angel.  Just like the first time he had laid eyes on her, he had the sense of the rest of the room falling away.  Sight and sound dimmed until there was only his angel.  She stood in the middle of the room, gazing at him with big, bottomless, chocolate-colored eyes.  Her long, mahogany hair spilled over her shoulders and curled around the bare skin.  He was considering going over to her when he felt Newton’s hand on his arm.  “So you’ve seen Bella, hm?”

            “Bella?”  He turned back to Newton.  As repulsive as he found the other man, Newton had information on his angel.  On Bella.

            “Yup.  I met Rosie first, the sexy blonde?  She and Alice are real nymphos, let me tell you, but they’ve got _nothing_ on Bella.  That chick’s had me six ways to Sunday.”  Newton put his hand on his chest and adopted a dreamy expression.  “I think I’m in love.”

            A rage filled Edward unlike any he’d ever felt before.  He caught Emmett’s eyes over the tiny woman’s head and indicated Newton, then nodded toward the woman.  Emmett appeared confused before understanding lit his face.  He quickly disengaged from the woman, leaving her to stare after him like a gaping fish.  As Emmett completed his task, Edward turned his gaze back to Bella.  _His angel.  His tormentor._     Shock crept into those big, beautiful eyes, then sadness.  She turned on her heel and ran off, running right past Emmett, who turned his head to follow her progress.

            “’Scuse me, Cullen,” Newton said, before he too ran off in the same direction.

            “Where’s Jazz?” Emmett asked after making his way to Edward’s side.

            “He thought he saw a friend of his and went to say hello.  What were you and Newton’s friend talking about?”

            Emmett quirked an eyebrow.  “Her name is Alice Brandon, and we actually didn’t talk that long.  She recognized my name from the Motor Trend magazine.”

            “Careful, Em,“ Edward warned.  “I’m sure there’s nothing one of these women would like better than to sink her claws into money.”

            “Jeez, Eddie, jaded much?  You’re getting as bad as Jasper.  Don’t worry about me, I can handle myself.”  Emmett sounded confident.  Edward rubbed a knuckle alongside the edge of his nose, feeling frustrated about the whole deal.  “Hey, Edward,” Emmett’s tone sounded much softer this time, “are you all right?”

            “Hm?”  He seemed to hear Emmett from a million miles away.  “Yeah.  Yeah, I’m fine.  Sorry, Em.”

            “Hey, no worries, bro,” Emmett answered, scanning the room.

            He needed to get his mind off of the anger Newton had roused in him.  “I’m going to go outside for some air.  Do you want to come with me?”

            “Hm?”  Emmett looked back at him.  “No, go ahead.  I’m going to go and try to find Jazz.”  Edward shrugged and headed off, leaving Emmett behind to look for their missing friend.  Edward shouldered his way past partygoers with little disregard.  More than once, a woman tried to engage him, but he callously shrugged her off.  Finally, he spied a pair of French doors and made his escape.

            With the doors shut, the sounds of the party became muted.  Edward leaned forward and rested his forehead on the glass, relishing the semi-quiet.  Until, at least, he heard the sound of a scuffle in the bushes behind him.

            “Get off me, jackass!” a woman’s voice called out.

            “Ah, baby, don’t be like that.”  Her companion was obviously drunk.  Coming down the steps that led from the deck to the garden, he spied two people locked in a wrestling match.  He had no idea who the man was, but he recognized the woman as the gorgeous blonde from earlier.  As he watched, she attempted to punch the man, but he had her arms pinned.

            Edward felt the fury creeping up on him again.  This woman and her friends might be of questionable virtue, but he had been raised to respect women.  When a woman said no, it meant no, regardless of how far she’d let it progress.  Marching over to the pair, he grabbed the man and pulled him off of her, before slamming his fist into his stomach.  The woman’s attacker doubled over, retching on the grass.  Edward turned to the blonde.  “Are you OK?”

            She looked from her attacker to him.  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

            Edward grabbed the man’s collar and slung him towards the doors.  “Get out of here,” he growled, helping him by applying a boot to the rear.  The man stumbled forward a few steps before collapsing on the ground.

            The blonde came up behind him and laid her hand on his arm.  “Is he dead?”

            “No, just unconscious.  He should be fine once he sleeps off the alcohol.  Are you _sure_ that you’re all right?”

            She smiled at him.  “I’m sure.  Thanks for rescuing me.”  She offered her hand.  “I’m Rosalie Hale.”

            “I’m Edward Cullen,” he retorted as they shook.

            “Well, Edward Cullen,” she grinned, “you are officially my knight in shining armor.”

            Something he‘d heard earlier snagged in his memory.  “Rosalie?  Not ‘Rosie’?”

            “Oh, God, no.”  Rosalie gave an unladylike snort.  “I despise the name ‘Rosie’.”  She looked him over suspiciously.  “Did one of my friends tell you to call me that?”

            _One of my friends…_ quickly, Edward was reminded just who and _what_ this woman was.  “In a manner of speaking,” he retorted coolly.  “Tell me, just _what_ were you doing out here by yourself?”

            She frowned, before answering him.  “I was looking for Newton.”

            “Looking for…Newton.”  His voice came out harsher then he intended.  “Then you should have stayed inside.  Right now he’s in one of bedrooms with your friend in the green.”

            “Bella?”  Muted alarm showed on her face.  “Excuse me, I have to go.”  She pushed past him and ran into the house.

            Edward watched her go, feeling confused.  He followed her, intending to see what the story was.  Once he was inside, however, he found that she had disappeared.  _The last thing you told her was about the bedrooms, chances are she’d go there first._   He turned towards the hallway.  There, standing close to him, was the friend in the blue dress that had been talking to Emmett.  “Pardon me,” he approached her.  “I’m looking for Rosalie Hale.  Do you know where she is?”

            “Rose?  I was just going to join her.  She’s right over there.”  She indicated a spot behind her.  Unfortunately, when he went to look, he couldn’t see her.

            “She’s not there.”

            The small woman was peering hard into the crowd, as if she could make her friend materialize by will alone.  “Well, damn.”  She actually stamped her foot in outrage before looking back at him.  “I know I saw her over there.  How do you know Rosalie, anyway?”

            “I just met her outside.”  He indicated the sliding doors with his thumb.  “I’m Edward Cullen.”

            “Nice to meet you, Edward.  I’m Alice Brandon.”  She peered into the crowd again.  “Was Rosalie upset about something when she left you?  She seemed disturbed, and Rosalie is _never_ disturbed.  Even when she is.”

            While trying to ponder that bit of illogic, he informed her, “I don’t know.  I told her that her friend in the green, what’s her name, Stella…” he deliberately messed up.

            “Bella,” Alice corrected.

            “Right.  Anyway, I told her that Bella was with Newton in one of the bedrooms and she ran inside.”

            Alice seemed upset herself after his revelation.  “What?  Are you sure?  Because if you’re not sure, then…” she turned toward the hallway, then stopped.  “Oh, there she is.”  The girl, Bella, stood at the bar, looking upset and angry at the same time.  “It was nice to meet you, but I think my friend needs me.”  She waved at him as she hurried to the other woman’s side.

            “Yeah, no problem,” he replied faintly.  Cutting across the middle of the room, he spied Emmett and Jasper talking.  “Hey,” he said, looking back and forth between them, “what’s up?”

            “Nothing,” Emmett said.  Jasper mumbled something under his breath.

            “What was that?” Edward asked him.

            “It was nothing,” Emmett insisted again.  “Come on; let’s get the hell out of here.”  Feeling like he couldn’t agree more, Edward followed Emmett out the door.

 

***      ***      ***

 

**JPOV**

 

            Jasper skimmed his gaze over the occupants of the room with a sense of disinterest.  The only reason he was here was because of Emmett.  Lately, he had begun to feel apathetic about any social interaction that didn’t involve his friends.  At every gathering he went to, all he saw were the flaws.  Vapid, useless hypocrites wasting inherited money.  Greedy, social-climbing twits that looked at him and saw dollar signs.  He was thoroughly sick of it all.  _Use tonight as an example_ , he thought.  He had arrived at the party with Edward and Emmett.  At first, they had just stood around, helping each other avoid the women who were offering themselves to the three friends.  Then, Emmett had pointed out a trio of young women that had appeared just as uncomfortable as they did.  Emmett and Edward had stayed true to type, being attracted to a blonde bombshell and an angelic looking woman, respectively, but Jasper had found his own attention snared by someone different.  Completing the trio had been a short, fine-boned woman that looked like she would barely reach his shoulder.  With her cropped hair and pixie-like face, she’d reminded him of a mischievous sprite, just _itching_ to misbehave.  Then Newton had come and started talking, and all Jasper knew was that he’d had to get out of there before he lost his temper.  He’d felt a little bad about leaving Edward alone, as Emmett had bailed earlier, but Edward could handle himself.  Jasper quickly crossed the room, eager to escape to the back of the house.  He moved past groups of people well on their way to becoming drunk, even at this hour.  A woman whose gaze he had met licked her lips and stroked her own chest.  He moved on, not in the least bit tempted.  He’d just reached the back wall and was prepared to wander aimlessly when he recognized the blonde in the pink that Emmett had been fascinated with earlier.  He was surprised to see the look of disgust on her face and tucked the information away to examine later.  As he watched, the man she was speaking to attempted to slide his hand up her hip.  Jasper continued to watch in stupefied amusement as the woman captured the man’s hand.  She did something that caused the man to buckle slightly, pain on his face, before turning on her heel and walking away.  As she was heading his way, Jasper side-stepped to bring himself into her path.  “Hello.”

            She stopped, looking startled, then wary.  “Hello.”

            He nodded in the direction of the man she had just dispatched.  “Saw how you handled yourself.  I’m impressed.”

            She looked over her shoulder in the same direction.  “Yeah, well, he should watch where he puts his hands.”

            “Indeed.  I’m Jasper Whitlock.”

            Shaking his hand she introduced herself.  “I’m Rosalie Hale.”

            Jasper stepped back and leaned against the wall.  “So, Rosalie, what are you doing here?”

            She scowled.  “I’m looking for our _esteemed_ _host_ at the moment.”

            “Newton?  Why are you looking for him?”

            Rosalie opened he mouth to reply, but she was interrupted by the man standing beside them.

            “Newton?  You’re looking for Newton?” he asked Rosalie’s cleavage.  She and Jasper shared a look over the man’s head.  “Yo, I think I saw him go outside.”

            She turned and the man pouted at the loss of his view before going back to his companions.  “Outside, huh?  Well, then…”  She turned back to Jasper.  “It was nice meeting you, but I need to…” she jerked a thumb over her shoulder.

            “Of course.  It was nice meeting you, too.”  She smiled at him as she moved away and disappeared into the crowd, leaving him alone with the drunken idiots.  Again.  “Yipee skipee,” he muttered.  He pulled out his cell, eternally grateful that he’d downloaded Tetris.  Flipping through the menu options, he glanced up, looking for his friends.  Edward was nowhere to be found, but Emmett was back in their original spot.  Jasper closed his phone and started moving towards his friend.  He’d taken all of two steps when he collided with someone.  The woman turned and looked up at him with big brown eyes.

            “Oh!  I’m sorry,” she apologized.

            “No worries.  I should have been watching where I was going.”  Jasper took a closer look at her.  The woman’s cheeks were flushed and her eyes glittered with an emotion that looked very much like anger.  “Are you all right?  I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

            The woman gave him a confused look.  “What?  No, I’m fine.”

            “It’s just that you look upset.”

            “Oh,” she waved away his concern.  “It’s nothing.  I just had a disagreement with someone a few minutes ago.”

            “Must have been some disagreement.”

            “It was,” she said.  “But I think I got my point across.  He’ll think twice before pulling that stunt again.”

            Her words reminded him of the problem Rosalie had had earlier.  He looked for the man who had put the moves on her, but he was nowhere to be seen.  “Yeah, there seems to be a lot of winners here tonight.

            “Tell me about it.  I was expecting something a little _classier_ , shall we say?  If I had known it was going to be like this, I wouldn’t have come.”  She scowled before smiling up at him.  “I’m Bella Swan, by the way.”

            “Jasper Whitlock.”  He stuck out his hand and she slid her own into his grip.  “So,” he asked, once he released her, “why _are_ you here?”

            “My friends and I were invited as an apology.”  She tucked several strands of hair behind her ear.  “Some apology, huh?  Actually, I think Rosalie was invited and Alice and I just got included because she wouldn’t come without us.”

            “Rosalie?  Rosalie Hale?” he asked, surprised.

            “Yeah, you know Rosalie?”

            “Actually, I just met her a few minutes ago.  She was looking for Newton.”  The name struck a cord and he remembered what Newton had said about her and her friends.  “I thought you, Rosalie and the other girl were all, well, _friends_ of Newton’s.”

            “What?” she looked puzzled.  “No.  We just met him earlier tonight when he came to pick us up.  Actually, Rosalie met him earlier in the week, but she doesn’t know him any better than I do.  We weren’t even going to come except we thought there might be some well-connected people we could meet.”  She gave a self-deprecating laugh and swept her hand through her hair.  “Jesus, that sounded mercenary.”

            “Hey,” he told her, “we all had to start somewhere.  What do you do for a living?”

            “I’m a librarian.  You?”  He was trying to figure out an answer when her purse beeped.  “Hold on a sec,” she laughed.  Digging into her bag, she withdrew her cell.  After checking it, she turned at the waist to check the crowd behind her.  “It’s my friend, Alice,” she informed him, turning back.  “She thinks there’s something up with Rose.”  She began worrying her bottom lip.  “I have to go.”

            “I’ll come with you,” he offered.

            “No, that’s OK.”  She put her phone back into her bag.  “Rose hates an audience when she’s upset.  Thanks, though.”

            “Yeah, no problem.”

            “It was nice talking to you, Jasper.  I’d say enjoy the party, but…” she shrugged and grinned at him before disappearing into the crowd.

            After her departure, he scanned the room, locating Emmett.  He was still standing in in their original spot and Edward was still gone.  Emmett saw him as well and held up his hand in the well known wait sign before starting to head across the room.  Figuring that Emmett was going to collect their missing friend, Jasper leaned back against the wall, planning on another attempt at Tetris.

            “Well, hey there, big boy,” a feminine voice purred at his side.  _Ugh_ , he thought, rolling his eyes before shifting his weight.  The fair-haired woman that had spoken wore a bright red dress that started just north of her tits and ended just south of her crotch.  She’d put matching color on her mouth and nails.  “My name’s Lucy.  And you are…?”  She arched a brow as she pressed closer to him.

            “Not interested,” he announced rudely, pulling away from her.  Sliding his phone into his pocket, he pushed through the crowd separating him from Emmett.  Just as he broke through, he saw Bella punch Emmett in the shoulder and stomp off.  “Hey,” he said, “what was Swan all pissed off about?”

            “Hey. I, uh, may have implied that she was a whore.”  Emmett rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

            Jasper turned sharply, positive he‘d heard wrong.  “You did _what_?”

            “Yeah.  I thought I was helping Edward out, but now I’m thinking I just screwed the pooch.”

            He raked his hand through his hair.  He wasn’t sure what had been going through Emmett’s head.  “Man.”

            They stood together in silence until Edward appeared.  “Hey,” he looked from Emmett to Jasper and back again, “what’s up?”

            “Nothing,” Emmett said.

            “If that’s what you want to call it,” Jasper muttered.

            “What was that?” Edward asked.

            “It was nothing,” Emmett insisted again.  “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here.”  He turned and started towards the door with Edward following.  More than ready to leave, Jasper fell in behind.

 

***      ***      ***

 

            The three of them entered Emmett’s Escalade.  “Well,” Jasper said, sarcastically, “wasn’t that a fun time?”

            “Ugh, I’m just glad we’re leaving,” Emmett groaned.

            “Especially with the way you were charming the ladies there at the end, huh, Casanova?”  Jasper sucker punched him in the arm before leaning back.

            Edward stopped fiddling with his seatbelt and turned to face Jasper from the passenger’s seat.  “What do you mean?”

            “Oh, nothing.”  Jasper grinned like the Cheshire cat.  “Just that Emmett’s famed charm turned out to be more fame then charm.”

            Edward turned a raised brow on Emmett.  “Forget it,” Emmett growled.  “Besides, weren’t you the one that said to avoid the women at the party?  That they probably had STDs or something?”

            “I don’t know,” Jasper piped up.  “Two of the women I met appeared perfectly fine.  Of course, Emmett and I seemed to have disagreed on the last woman.”

            Emmett scowled at his grinning friend in the review mirror.  “Let’s just get out of here.”  He navigated the minefield of parked cars, maneuvering the large vehicle onto the street.

            “Hey, Emmett?”  Jasper leaned forward, holding onto Emmett’s headrest.  “Why do you drive this thing?  Shouldn’t you be driving something your company produces?  You’re aiding the competition, man!”

            “No, aiding the competition is what I’ll be doing when I hire your rivals to smash through your firewalls and totally destroy your software!”

            “Knock it off, you two,”  Edward interrupted.  “But seriously, Emmett, why do you drive an Escalade?”

            Emmett’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel.  “I just like the car, OK?”

            “Fine!  Don’t rip the steering wheel off.”  Edward settled back and gazed out the windshield.  “Hey!” he cried, jerking forward, “what’s that?”

            Jasper squinted over Emmett’s shoulder.  “I- I think it’s those girls from earlier.”

            “They must be freezing!” Emmett said in disbelief.  “What could they be doing?”

            “Pull over,” Edward dictated.  “Let’s make sure they’re all right.”  As Emmett eased the vehicle closer to the curb, his passengers were already unbuckling their seatbelts.  It seemed the night wasn’t over yet.


	5. Why Are We Here? Pt. 2

            “Bella?”

            “Hm?”

            “Why are we here?”

            “Because Rose got invited to a party that was being hosted by a wealthy businessman, and we were hoping to take advantage of his connections.”

            “Ah.”

            “Yeah, so now we’re stuck here.  Don’t drink anything a guy hands you.  It’s probably got a roofie dissolved in it.”

            “We shouldn’t have agreed to go to this party with Rose.  I’m sick of being hit on by dumb shits.”

            “I agree.  I am, too.”

            Rosalie looked at her friends.  “I’m standing right here, you two.  I can hear you.”

            “Good, you were supposed to.”  Bella avoided the leer of yet another partygoer by turning her back on him.  They had only been at Newton’s party for about twenty minutes, and already she’d had more numbers offered to her then she could remember.  She wasn’t alone in being hit on, either.  Rosalie and Alice had fended off more then their share of wannabe companions, and the three girls were now standing together on the fringes of the party.

 

***      ***      ***

 

**Rosalie**

 

            Standing with her back against the wall, Rosalie mentally abraded herself for dragging her friends into this crap-fest.  A man moved behind Bella, his eyes checking out her body appreciatively.  He raised his hands, clearly thinking he was going to get to put them on her.  Rosalie swung her foot out and kicked him to get his attention.  He raised his gaze and she blasted him with her perfected _stay-the-fuck-away_ glare.  She knew it had worked when the prick’s smirk dropped and he scuttled away like a roach when the light comes on.  She heard a low chuckle coming from Alice, and the two of them shared a look.

            “What?” Bella wanted to know.

            “Nothing, just Rosalie sending another one running,” Alice covered.

            Bella rolled her eyes and Rosalie scanned the crowd.  _Find Newton_ , she planned, _and get the hell out of here_.  The door opened, the action naturally drawing her gaze.  “My, oh my,” she muttered with approval.

            “Hm?” Alice looked up at her and then turned her head in the direction Rose had been looking.  She sucked in a breath.  “Well, hello, handsome.”

            Bella had also turned to check out what had caught her friend’s interest.  “Wow.”

            Rosalie let her eyes slide over the best looking one.  He was tall, taller than she was, which was rare.  Actually, all three of them looked like they were taller than she was.  _He_ was the tallest, however.  _He_ was muscular, the collar of his shirt opened to reveal the strong lines of his throat.  His hair was a careless cluster of brown curls and when he smiled, as he was doing right now, dimples were reveled that would bring a strong woman to her knees.

            “Yummy,” Alice said, and Rosalie felt a jolt of something shoot up her spine.

            “Which one?”

            Alice gave her a _duh_ look.  “Hello?  The blonde, of course.”

            “Don’t ‘of course’ _me_ , Alice Brandon.  There are three men standing there and I’m not a mind reader to figure out which one you want to jump on and ride like a pony.”

            “What is that, some kind of short joke?  “Listen, just because you…”

            “Knock it off!” Bella hissed.  She glared at them before her eyes darted in the direction of the men.

            A feline smile crept over Rosalie’s face.  “And, ah, which one do _you_ like, Bella?”

            Alice sidled up on her other side, preventing escape.  “Yeah, Bells.  Which one?”

            “You know, watching you two go from being ready to claw each other’s eyes out to the Siamese cats is enough to give a girl whiplash.”

            “Stop resisting, which one?”

            “Yeah, Bella,” Rosalie’s grin turned evil, “which one?”

            “Fine!”  Bella pouted before admitting, “The one with the reddish-brown hair.”

            “This leaves the big brunette for Rosalie!” Alice concluded.

            “Wait!” Bella protested.  “We can’t just assign a guy to Rose.  What if she was attracted to one of the other guys?”

            “She wasn’t.”  Alice’s voice was firm.  “You think your guy’s the most attractive, so everyone’s going to want him.”

            “He’s not my guy…” Bella attempted to protest, but Alice continued on, rolling over her like a steamroller.

            “But she almost jumped down my throat before I told her I liked the blonde guy, and didn’t even say a peep when you claimed the redhead.  So, by process of elimination, she’s attracted to the big, muscular guy with the brown curls.”  She looked up at Rosalie.  “Right?”

            “And dimples,” Rose added, grinning.

            “Right, because Rose is a sucker for dimples.”  Alice arched a brow at Bella, who was unsuccessfully trying to keep from laughing.  “What?”

            “Nothing!  I just think it’s funny that with all your talk of ‘my guy’ and ‘claiming’, we still know absolutely nothing about them.  Heck, we don’t even know their names!”  She laughed and Alice and Rosalie joined in.

            “Maybe they’re jewel thieves, here to romance women into giving up their diamonds!” Alice joked.  “Not that they’d have to charm Rosalie.  All they’d have to do is flash those dimples at her and she’d gift wrap her jewels.”

            “Please,” Rosalie snorted.  “If I had jewels, do you think I’d be suffering through the party from Hell for some business contacts?  Which reminds me, I’m going to go find Newton and tell him that we want to go home.”  She headed off in the direction she had last seen him in.  She was angriest with herself, really.  She was the most street-smart, the savviest.  _You were real street-smart and savvy when you ignored your instincts and accepted Newton’s invitation, weren’t ya?  Moreover, you dragged your two best friends with you, tsk tsk._   “Shut up,” she growled.  _Face it, Rosie, you got greedy._   Yeah, she had gotten greedy.  Nothing ever ended well when she got greedy.  This party was just the latest in a long line of examples.  She shoved her wayward thoughts to the back of her mind and concentrated on finding Newton.  She approached two or three groups and each time she was told that nobody had any idea where he was.  The last loser had actually slid his hand up her hip while propositioning her.  She’d bent his pinkie until it touched the back of his hand.  Rosalie turned on her heel and strode away.  A man stepped into her path, forcing her to stop.  “Hello.”

 She recognized him as the man that Alice had liked.  _Please don’t let him be a jackass_ , she thought.  “Hello.”

            He nodded in the direction of the guy who had tried to feel her up.  “Saw how you handled yourself.  I’m impressed.”

            She looked over her shoulder.  “Yeah, well, he should watch where he puts his hands.”

            “Indeed.  I’m Jasper Whitlock.”

            She shook his hand and was happy to note he had a strong grip, his calluses gently abrading the skin of her palm.  “I’m Rosalie Hale.”

            He released her hand and leaned on the wall behind him.  “So, Rosalie, what are you doing here?”

            Her negative emotions were probably showing on her face.  “I’m looking for our _esteemed_ _host_ at the moment.”

            He looked surprised.  “Newton?  Why are you looking for him?”

            Before she could answer him and probably unload all the anger and disgust she was feeling, the drunkard standing next to them interrupted.  “Newton?  You’re looking for Newton?”  Rosalie was tempted to inform him that Newton wasn’t hiding in her bra.  Jasper met her eyes over the man‘s head.  “Yo, I think I saw him go outside.”

            Rosalie turned around to look behind her.  “Outside, huh?  Well, then…”  She turned back to Jasper.  “It was nice meeting you, but I need to…” she jerked a thumb over her shoulder.

            “Of course.  It was nice meeting you, too.”  She smiled at him as she moved away and headed back the way he came.  Slipping through the French doors a minute later, she scanned the backyard for Newton.  Rosalie sighed in frustration.  The bushes growing near patio blocked her view.  Descending the few steps, she walked into the garden.  A quick look around her was enough to let her know that wherever Newton was, he wasn’t outside.  Later, she would blame it on being pissed off at Newton for pulling a damn vanishing act.  Whatever the reason, Rosalie never noticed the drunk from earlier until he had wrapped his arms around her.  “What the --!”

            “Finally alone, eh?”

            She managed to twist herself around to face the drunk.  “Get off me, jackass!” she cried, struggling to free her arms.

            “Ah, baby, don’t be like that.”   The drunk leaned in to kiss her.  She twisted her face away, so his lips landed on her cheek.  Rosalie balled her fists, but with her arms pinned, she was unable to land a solid punch.

            As suddenly as he had been upon her, the drunk was gone.  He knelt doubled over in front of a furious man, heaving his stomach contents on the grass.  “Are you OK?” her savior asked, turning towards her.

            She turned her gaze from her attacker.  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

            Her rescuer grabbed the drunken man by the collar and threw him towards the house.  “Get out of here,” he snarled, kicking the drunk in the ass.  The drunk stumbled before passing out on the ground.

            Rosalie laid her hand on her rescuer’s arm.  “Is he dead?”

            “No, just unconscious.  He should be fine once he sleeps off the alcohol.  Are you _sure_ that you’re all right?”

            She smiled.  “I’m sure.  Thanks for rescuing me.”  She reached her hand out towards him.  “I’m Rosalie Hale.”

            “I’m Edward Cullen,” he introduced himself.

            “Well, Edward Cullen, you are officially my knight in shining armor.”

            Releasing her hand, he took a step back with an odd look on his face.  “Rosalie?  Not ‘Rosie’?”

            “Oh, God, no.”  Rosalie snorted.  “I despise the name ‘Rosie’.”  She looked up at him.  The light from inside revealed his bronze-colored hair.  _This was the guy Bella thought was cute!_ She suspiciously wondered where he had heard the name.  “Did one of my friends tell you to call me that?”

            “In a manner of speaking,” he replied, his voice cooling a few degrees.  “Tell me, just _what_ were you doing out here by yourself?”

            Rosalie frowned, not caring for his tone.  “I was looking for Newton.”

            “Looking for…Newton.”  His voice came out harshly.  “Then you should have stayed inside.  Right now he’s in one of bedrooms with your friend in the green.”

            “Bella?  Excuse me, I have to go.”  All other thoughts fled her mind, replaced with worry for her friend.  Quickly, she pushed past him and ran into the house.  Once inside, she rushed down the hallway, looking into every room she passed.  She found Newton halfway through.  He was sitting on a bed, the room empty.  She crossed the floor to stand before him.  “What did you do to Bella?” she accused, hands on her hips.

            “Nothing,” he pouted.

            “Bullshit!”  In her heels, she topped him by a good two inches.  She used it to her advantage, leaning in and invading his space.  Making it necessary to lean back and look up in order to keep eye contact.  “What- did- you- do?”

            “Nothing!”  He stood, forcing her back a couple of steps.  He sneered up at her.  “She was begging for it, but I wouldn’t fuck that little Ice Queen for fear my dick might fall off.”

            Rosalie saw red.  All rational thought vanished in the face of this night and this sorry excuse for a man.  Clenching her fist, she jutted out her middle knuckle and swiftly punched Newton in the throat.  He let out some kind of a ‘gack’ sound before clutching his throat with both hands and stumbling back to fall onto the bed.  Not giving him a second thought, Rosalie hurried out the door and down the hall to the main room.

            “Rose!”

            Alice’s voice ringing out over the crowd brought a wash of relief.  Bella sat on a stool at the bar with Alice standing beside her.  As Rosalie drew near, however, she was able to make out the anger on Bella’s face.  She thought again of Newton.  “What happened?” she asked.  _She’d go back and beat him black and blue.  She’d get Kyle and the guys at the garage to pay him a midnight visit.  She’d…_

            “Don’t worry about it,” Bella ordered.  “I’ll tell you later.  Right now, I just want to go home.”

            “Fine, let’s go.”

            “How?” Alice questioned.  “Newton drove us here.”

            “We’ll get a cab,” Rosalie decided.  She wasn’t staying at this party another second.  Together, the three friends headed towards the door.

 

***         ***         ***

 

**BELLA**

 

            Bella stood alone against the wall.  Rosalie had left earlier to find Newton and to make him take them back home, and Alice had just stepped away to get a drink from the bar.  She blew her hair out of her face.  _Damn Alice and Rosalie and their evil make-up brushes and hair torture devices._   The girls had a lot in common, but style wasn’t one of them.  Rosalie liked the sexy and stunning style of old Hollywood.  Alice loved the fun, bright, colorful styles of the Mods and the flappers.  And Bella… right now, she just wanted to be comfortable, a state that was eluding her at this precise moment.  Her feet were killing her, her back ached, her under wire was digging into her ribs and her face and scalp itched like crazy.  She could not wait to go home and slip into some old jeans and a comfortable flannel shirt.

            In the crowd, some idiot was braying like a donkey.  Bella groaned, rolling her eyes and dropping her head back against the wall behind her.  She rolled her head in the direction Alice had left in.  Her tiny friend was talking to the huge linebacker from earlier.  _Probably getting his life story so she can fill Rosalie in later_.  Bella rolled her head in the other direction, looking for Rosalie.  The crowd was hiding her effectively.  Bella couldn’t even spot her taller friend’s blonde head over the partygoers, or see a peek of her pink dress through the press of bodies.  She turned her head to stare straight on.  By some quirk of nature, the crowd had thinned in front of her.  Across the room, she spotted their host.  Newton was talking to the gorgeous man she had been attracted to.  _Of course…_   She quickly re-scanned the room, but still did not see Rosalie anywhere.  Sucking it up, she began to cross the room, heading towards Newton and his friend.  She had reached the halfway point when the man turned to look at her.  She was instantly arrested by the intense green of his eyes.  She got the impression that he was going to walk over to her, and found herself holding her breath in anticipation.  Instead, he turned back to Newton as the other man laid a hand on his arm.  Bella took a couple steps closer, only to have her dream man turn back and give her a look so black it literally stopped her in her tracks.  She was shocked to the soles of her feet.  _What in the world could I have done?_

            Wanting to be anywhere except on the receiving end of that glare, she turned away from his look of hatred.  She pushed through the crowd and raced down a hall, seeking an escape of some sort.  Quickly realizing that this way would offer none, she turned back, only to find her way blocked by Michael Newton.  “Hey, Bella.  What did you do?  Stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or something?”  She chuckled weakly and attempted to slide past him.  Instead, he moved closer, caging her against the wall.  “You know, Bella, you’re a very attractive woman.  I’ve thought that ever since the first time I saw you.”

            “Gee, thanks,” she said, attempting to eek past him.  “That’s really…flattering.”

            Newton pinched a lock of her hair between his fingers.  “Your hair has red in it,” he remarked absently.  “Look, Bella, I’m a wealthy man.  I’m sure I could find a _position_ ,” he leered the word, “for you that would make us both happy.”  He stepped forward again, causing the front of their bodies to touch lightly.

            _Oh, no way in hell!_   Bella fumbled in the tiny purse Alice and Rosalie insisted she bring until, _finally_ , she located what she wanted.  She quickly dug the barrel into Newton’s side, taking pleasure at his look of surprise.  “Know what this is, Newton?  I’ll tell you.  It’s a 9 millimeter.  A short recoil, semi-automatic, single-action/double-action pistol that is favored for self-defense.  That means back off or I will shoot your ass.”  Newton did back off, and quickly.  Not giving him time to investigate the concealed weapon she supposedly toted in her marble bag of a purse, she fled the hallway, dropping the tube of lipstick back in her bag as she ran.

            She managed to get to the other side of the room without tripping over thin air.  The moment she stopped, however, someone else managed to walk into _her_.  She turned and looked up at the final member of the handsome trio.  “Oh!  I’m sorry,” she said immediately, the fact that she had been an innocent party this time not occurring to her.

            “No worries.  I should have been watching where I was going.”  The man gave her an intense look.  “Are you all right?  I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

            Bella was confused.  She was still upright, wasn’t she?  “What?  No, I’m fine.”

            “It’s just that you look upset,” he explained.

            The anger she felt from dealing with Newton must still be evident then.  “Oh,” she waved a hand through the air.  “It’s nothing.  I just had a disagreement with someone a few minutes ago.”

            “Must have been some disagreement.”

            _You have no idea_.  “It was, but I think I got my point across.  He’ll think twice before pulling that stunt again.”

            The man looked around, his lips pursing into a thin line.  “Yeah, there seems to be a lot of winners here tonight.”

            “Tell me about it.  I was expecting something a little _classier_ , shall we say?  If I had known it was going to be like this, I wouldn’t have come.  I’m Bella Swan, by the way.”  She smiled up at him.

            “Jasper Whitlock.”  She shook his hand.  “So, why _are_ you here?”

            “My friends and I were invited as an apology.”  She swept several strands of hair out of her eyes and tucked them behind her ear.  “Some apology, huh?  Actually, I think Rosalie was invited and Alice and I just got included because she wouldn’t come without us.”

            Whitlock’s eyebrows climbed to his hairline.  “Rosalie?  Rosalie Hale?”

            “Yeah, you know Rosalie?”  _No way_ , she thought.  _Rosalie would have told them if she knew him.  Especially sense she knew Alice found him attractive_.

            “Actually, I just met her a few minutes ago.  She was looking for Newton.”  _Oh, well then, that explained it_.  A sour expression crossed Whitlock‘s face.  “I thought you, Rosalie and the other girl were all, well, _friends_ of Newton’s.”

            _What?_   “What?” she asked.  “No.  We just met him earlier tonight when he came to pick us up.  Actually, Rosalie met him earlier in the week, but she doesn’t know him any better than I do.  We weren’t even going to come except we thought there might be some well-connected people we could meet.”  She laughed embarrassedly and shoved her hair out of her face.  “Jesus, that sounded mercenary.”

            “Hey,” he replied, “we all had to start somewhere.  What do you do for a living?”

            “I’m a librarian.  You?”  Her phone began beeping, distracting her by signaling an incoming message.  “Hold on a sec.” She dug her phone out and read the message.  Alice had seen Rosalie run into the hallway looking upset.  That was worrisome in itself.  Rosalie would never _look_ upset unless she was freaking out on the inside.  “It’s my friend, Alice,” she told Whitlock, turning back to him.  “She thinks there’s something up with Rose.”  She started chewing on her bottom lip.  “I have to go.”

            “I’ll come with you.”

            “No, that’s OK.”  She dropped her phone back into her bag.  “Rose hates an audience when she’s upset.  Thanks, though.”

            “Yeah, no problem.”

            “It was nice talking to you, Jasper.  I’d say enjoy the party, but…” she shrugged and grinned, slipping back into the crowd.  Her phone beeped at her again and she flipped it open, concerned for her friend.  Instead of a message, however, she was greeted with a little red battery symbol before her cell promptly died in her hand.  She stumbled in surprise.  Strong arms caught her and set her back on her feet before she landed on her face.  “Oh, for Pete’s sake…” she complained, smoothing out her dress.

            “Are you all right?”  She looked up from her task to see that her rescuer was the linebacker-built man that Alice had been speaking to.

            “Yeah, I’m fine.  Just utilizing my mad trip-over-nothing skills,” she replied, off-handedly.

            He laughed.  “I saw you talking to my friend earlier.”

            She turned and looked back to where she‘d left Whitlock.  “Jasper?”

            “Yeah.  Every time I see you, you’re somewhere different.  You’re like a ninja.”

            _Me, a ninja.  Right_.  “I think being a ninja requires a lot higher skill level then I currently possess.”

            “Ah,” he pasted a wise expression on his face, “isn’t that what a ninja would say?”  His joking attitude had her giggling like some kind of schoolgirl.  “I’m Emmett McCarty,” he told her.

            She tucked yet another hank of hair behind her ear.  _All night hold, my ass!_   “I’m Bella Swan.”  She shook his hand.

            “So, Bella,” started, raising his eyes to look out over the room, “I spoke with one of your friends earlier.  Alice Brandon?”

            “Oh yeah,” she laughed, remember tiny Alice looking up at this huge man.  “I saw you two over at the bar.  I guess she made an impression?  Alice always does.”

            “She made an impression,” he agreed, “and so did you.”

            “Me?”

            He looked down at her again.  “I saw you run past me after I was done talking to her.”

            _He must have been one of the people I pushed past when his friend blasted me with The Look_.  “O…kay,” she drawled the word, not sure where he was going with this.

            “Yeah, and I saw Newton hot-footing it after you.”  He met her eyes with an almost pained expression.  “Then I saw you later with Jasper.  You and Newton did quick work.  Or was he not in the mood and you were scoping someone else?”

            So complete was her shock that her jaw actually unhinged and her chin dropped.  As quickly as it came, it was gone, replace with a boiling anger.  Channeling her inner Rosalie, she balled her fist and slammed it into his shoulder with all the strength she could muster.  “You asshole!” she insulted him before striding off.  She made her way to the bar and slid onto a stool.  Once she had a moment to compose herself, she would go look for Alice and Rosalie.  She just needed a moment to herself.

            “Hey, girl, what’s up?”  Alice was standing in front of her.

            “Nothing.  I thought you were with Rosalie?”

            “No, I-- Rose!”

            Rose crossed over to the pair of them, her gaze serious.  What happened?” she ordered.

            “Don’t worry about it,” Bella replied, not wanting to get into at this moment.  “I’ll tell you later.  Right now, I just want to go home.”

            “Fine, let’s go.”

            “How?  Newton drove us here,” Alice asked.

            “We’ll get a cab,” Rosalie declared.  Not caring how they left, as long as she did, Bella got off the stool and walked with her friends to the door.

 

***         ***         ***

 

**ALICE**

 

            _I’m a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world!  Life in plastic, it’s fantastic!_

            “Alice…”

            _You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere!  Imagination, life is your creation!_

            “I swear to God, Alice, if you don’t stop singing ‘Barbie Girl’ under your breath, I’m going to scream.”

            Alice stopped singing and looked over at her friend.  Bella was leaning against the wall beside her.  “I thought you liked the song.”

            “I like ‘I’m Too Sexy’ by Right Said Fred, too, but not fifty million times in a row.”

            Almost immediately, the new song filled her head.  _I’m… too sexy for my shirt.  Too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it hurts…_

            “Alice, for the love of humanity, I’m begging you to stop.”

            “Fine, fine,” Alice laughed.  “I’m going to go get a drink, you want one?”

            “Nah.”  Bella dropped her head back and it met the wall with a soft _thunk_.  “I’m good.  Just make sure you pour the drink yourself.  Oh!  And don’t let it out of your sight.”

            “Relax, Bells,” Alice smiled indulgently at her friend.  “I’m just going to get a Pepsi or something.  I’ll be right back.”  She walked away towards the bar, singing softly.  “I’m…too sexy for your party.  Too sexy for your party.  No way I’m disco dancing…”  Rosalie’s mountain man was already at the bar when she approached, so Alice stood back and waited her turn.

            “Fuck it,” the man said in a low tone.

            “Excuse me?” she asked.

            He stiffened before turning slowly from the waist, the way people do when they don’t want to see what’s behind them.  The tensioned eased out of him once he saw her.  “Nothing, I was just talking to myself.”

            Alice laughed at the faint look of embarrassment on his face.  “Don’t worry, I do that all the time.  It’s the only way to get the answers I want.”  The man smiled boyishly at her comment.  _Damn!  Check out those dimples!  Rosalie doesn’t stand a chance._ The thought of her hard-ass friend brought low by something as simple as this man’s curly hair and dimples caused laughter to come bubbling up.  “I’m Alice Brandon,” she introduced herself, holding her hand out and fighting valiantly to keep from bursting into a fit of the giggles.

“Emmett McCarty.”  His huge hand enveloped hers.

            “McCarty, McCarty, McCarty…” Alice repeated to herself.  She knew that name from somewhere.  A memory clicked and she looked back at him excitedly.  “Now I remember!  You’re the C.E.O. of that new car company.  One of your sports cars was named Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine.”

            He looked surprised.  “Yeah, you read Motor Trend?”

            “Nope.  I only know about that stuff because my friend, Rosalie,” Alice pointed off in the direction Rosalie had disappeared in, “loves cars.  She’s the only girl I know who has both _Vogue_ and _Car and Driver_ on her coffee table.”

            McCarty chuckled, a deep, rich sound, and looked in the direction she was pointing.  Abruptly, his smile dropped away and his eyes grew big.  “ _That’s_ your friend who loves cars?” he asked incredulously.

            Knowing full well the effect Rose had on men, Alice simply replied in the affirmative.  “Yep.”

            McCarty looked down at her with wide eyes, then back into the crowd.  Out of the blue, the expression on his face turned to confusion, then to grim determination.  When he looked back down at her, there was none of the warmth from earlier.  “Well, I enjoyed speaking with you, but I’m afraid I have to step away.  Forgive me?”

            Alice was too stunned by the abruptness to say much.  “Huh?  Uh, yeah.  I really should go and find my friends.  Nice meeting you, McCarty.”

            “Yourself as well, Miss Brandon,” he returned before striding away from her.

            Alice stared at the wall for a long moment.  _Well, that was weird._   Never one to let things get her down, however, she shrugged, both physically and mentally.  Digging around in the mini-fridge behind the bar, she managed to unearth a Coke.  She would have preferred the sweeter taste of Pepsi, but she’d deal.  Returning to the spot where she’d left Bella, she was surprised to find it empty.  “Bells?” she spoke softly, which was rather stupid once she thought about it.  After all, if Bella was close enough to hear her, then Alice would have seen her.  “Now, where did that girl wander off to?”

            She headed off in Rosalie’s direction, thinking Bella might have joined their other friend.  She saw the man with the interesting shade of bronze hair walking away from McCarty.  The bigger man was looking after his friend with concern on his face.  “Wonder what’s that about,” she muttered, before continuing on her way.  Making her way to the center of the room, she turned in a slow circle, looking in all directions.  Seeing nothing, she blew out a frustrated breath.  Suddenly, a flash of green caught her attention.  She turned in the direction she’d  seen it, but whatever it was had disappeared.  However, she was looking back in the general direction of where she’d first lost Bella.  _Silly Alice_ , she chastised herself.  _You over-reacted.  Bella probably just went to the bathroom or something, and now she’s wondering where the hell you are._

            Alice returned to their original location to discover that Bella was still missing.  “Well, hell.”

            An annoying ring tone sounded close by.  “Megan, here,” a brunette woman answered.

            Alice tuned her out while digging in her purse.  _You could call them!  Jeez, Allie, way to be a genius_.  Sliding her phone open, she realized she had several text messages.  None of them were from Rose or Bella, unfortunately, just automated messages letting her know that someone had commented on her blog.  Taking a quick minute, she logged on and pulled up her site.  _Welcome to the Asylum_ stood out on the top of the page, written in black script.  She’d started the blog as a joke.  Bella had been complaining one day as Alice had jumped from topic to topic during a shopping trip.  Rosalie had laughed, saying that Alice’s mind was so chaotic, if she didn’t tell someone what she thought, the idea would get lost in the chaos, never to be seen again.  That night, she’d started her first post, entitling the blog _Ramblings of a Chaotic Mind_.  Within the first week, she gained over twelve thousand followers.  Later, she’d expanded on the craziness and created a webpage, calling it _The Asylum_.  No idea was too crazy to get posted.  Everything from pictures of dresses she liked to the amount of her last speeding ticket was posted.  A year later, and both the site and the blog were still going strong.  She even had two sister blogs, written by her heart-sisters themselves.  _Musings of a Bibliophile_  and _Rants of a Bitch_ were both fan favorites.

            As she skimmed the comments left by readers, she sent a silent and grateful thanks to the creator of the online diary.  She was already compiling her next post in her head- _Hello, my darlings!  Ready for a review of Richie Rich’s party?_ \- when she glanced up from her phone just in time to see Rosalie enter the house by way of the French doors that lead to the backyard.  Alice frowned.  Rosalie looked worried.  Rosalie looked _extremely_ worried.  Alice sent off a short message to Bella before she shoved her phone back into her purse and headed towards her friend.  She arrived at the French doors moments later, but Rosalie was already hurrying down a hallway at a fast pace.

            “Pardon me,” a cultured, masculine voice said.  “I’m looking for Rosalie Hale.  Do you know where she is?”

            Alice looked up into the face of the man with bronze hair.  “Rose?  I was just going to join her.  She’s right over there.”  She pointed towards the hallway.

            “She’s not there.”

            _What?_ Alice looked for herself.  Sure enough, the hallway was empty.  _God damn my friends and their disappearing acts_!  “Well, damn.”  She stomped her foot in frustration.  “I know I saw her over there.  How do you know Rosalie, anyway?”

            The man pointed his thumb over his shoulder.  “I just met her outside.  I’m Edward Cullen.”

            “Nice to meet you, Edward.  I’m Alice Brandon.”  She looked towards the hallway again.  _Where was that girl?  This wasn’t like Rose at all.  Maybe Cullen knows something…_   “Was Rosalie upset about something when she left you?  She seemed disturbed, and Rosalie is _never_ disturbed.  Even when she is.”

            Cullen gave her a perplexed look.  “I don’t know.  I told her that her friend in the green, what’s her name, Stella…”

            “Bella,” she interrupted, thinking, oddly enough, that he’d gotten the name wrong on purpose.

            “Right.  Anyway, I told her that Bella was with Newton in one of the bedrooms and she ran inside.”

            _What?!_   Completely understanding Rosalie’s actions now, Alice spoke even as she was turning, preparing to follow Rosalie down the hall.  “What?  Are you sure?  Because if you’re not sure, then…” she stopped in her tracks as she spied Bella sitting on a stool at the bar.  “Oh, there she is.”  Bella looked angry and miserable at the same time.  “It was nice to meet you, but I think my friend needs me,” she said, waving at Cullen before rushing to Bella.  “Hey, girl, what’s up?”

            Bella focused on her.  “Nothing.  I thought you were with Rosalie?”

            _I thought_ you _were with Rose_ , she thought.  She looked over at the hallway again.  “No, I…”  Rose walked into the room, looking pissed off.  “Rose!”

            Rosalie quickly crossed the room, the relief on her face evident.  Her gaze became deadly as it landed on Bella.  “What happened?” she demanded.

            “Don’t worry about it,” Bella told her, her voice sounding weary.  “I’ll tell you later.  Right now, I just want to go home.”

            “Fine, let’s go.”

            Hating to be the one who brought it up, now that the three of them were finally together and trying to get the hell out of here, Alice spoke up.  “How?  Newton drove us here.”

            “We’ll get a cab,” Rosalie said, sensibly.

            _Sounds good to me_ , Alice decided, leaving with her friends and heading towards the door.

 

***      ***      ***

 

            “Son of a _bitch!!_ ” Rosalie screamed, finally giving up on locating a signal.  “Nothing!  Not even one goddamn bar.”  She stalked over to them.  “Alice, what about you?”

            Alice held up her cell for the millionth time.  “Rose, Bella and I have the same provider as you.  If you can’t get a signal, what makes you think we can?  Not to mention that Bella’s phone is deader than a doorknob.”  She turned to her quieter friend.  “Seriously, Bells, you have _got_ to upgrade your phone.”

            “I know, I know.”  Bella looked around.  “Maybe there’s an emergency phone or something we can use.”

            “Are you kidding?” Rosalie laughed.  “I don’t even think they make emergency phones anymore.”  She began pacing back and forth.  “I don’t know why I’m surprised.  It makes perfect sense for Newton to live in a dead zone.”

            “You know,” Alice began slowly, “I got a signal when we were inside.  Maybe I could go back and get a signal long enough to make a call.”

            “No!” Rosalie barked out.  “None of us are going back in that place.”

            “Rose, be reasonable.  It’ll take me five minutes…”

            “No!  I’ll walk before I go back there!”

            “You could wait here, and I’ll…”

            “No!”

            “Hey, you two, shut it!”  Bella rarely raised her voice, so Alice and Rosalie immediately quieted down.  “A car is stopping.”

            The three of them watched the big black vehicle pull to a stop at the curb.  The wheels had barely stopped moving when three very familiar men stepped out.

            “Maybe one of them has a cell phone we can use,” Rosalie said softly.

            “Forget it,” Bella fairly growled.  “ _I’ll_ walk before I accept help from them.”

            Alice looked at her, startled.  “Bella?”

            “Hey!” Cullen called out, “do you girls need some help?”

            Rosalie made to approach the car when Bella reached out and grabbed her arm.  “Rose, no!”

            Rosalie sent Bella a confused frown before calling out, “Give us a second, please!”  She looked back to Bella.  “What is wrong with you?” she asked in a harsh whisper.

            Bella folded her arms and glared at the ground.  “Two of those guys are real assholes.”

            Rosalie and Alice were taken aback.  “Really?” Alice asked.  “Which two?  I met McCarty and Cullen, and they both seemed pretty decent.”

            “Yeah, I met Cullen and Whitlock and same goes.”

            Bella’s glare became darker.  “Whitlock’s fine, but McCarty and the other guy- Cullen, I guess- are real creeps and I don’t want anything to do with them.”

            Alice and Rosalie exchanged a confused look.  Finally, Rose said, “Look, Bella, I don’t know what Cullen said or did to you, but he rescued me when we were in the yard.”  She reached out and laid her hand on Bella’s shoulder in a comforting manner.  “I’m just going to go ask if I can use their cell phone.  You can stay here.  You don’t even have to look at them.”  She squeezed Bella’s shoulder reassuringly before moving away.

            Alice and Bella watched her go.  “So, what _did_ they do?” Alice asked.

            Bella turned towards her.  “They called me Newton’s whore.”


	6. Dressed Up at the Burger Barn

            The blonde goddess, otherwise known as Rosalie Hale, approached the men at the car.  Emmett strode out to meet her.  “So, do you girls need some help?”

            Hale held up her cell phone.  “Kind of.  Newton drove us here tonight, so we were going to call a cab to take us home.  Only, it turns out we’re in a dead zone, so we’re kind of stranded out here.”

            Emmett swept his hand out towards the vehicle.  “Well, my lady, allow me to be your knight in a black Escalade.  It would be my pleasure to take you girls back home.”

            “That would be…”

            “Rose.”  The other two females had joined the group unnoticed, and the smallest one, Alice Brandon, had spoken to her taller friend with a serious look.  “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

            The pair stepped away.  Rosalie bent slightly, and the two of them spoke in fierce whispers.  Meanwhile, the third woman, Bella Swan, stood a slightly apart from the group, studiously ignoring them.  Emmett approached her with his mouth in a grim line.  “Miss Swan…” Emmett tugged on the hem of his shirt, “Miss Swan, I want to apologize for the way I spoke to you at the party.”  She said nothing, but did shift her eyes so that she was at least looking at him.  Both Hale and Brandon and gone quiet and were watching Emmett grovel.  “My only excuse is that I didn’t know you,” he continued, “and Newton had indicated that you and your friends were, well, a certain _type_ …” he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.  “Look,” he tried again, “I know I had no right to talk to you like that, and I’m sorry.”

            Swan took a deep breath before answering.  “I understand, Mr. McCarty.  I accept your apology, thank you.”

            A small smile crept onto Emmett’s face.  “So, you’ll let me give you and your friends a lift?”

            Swan looked over at her friends and the three of them held one of those silent conversations that females are so good at having.  Finally, Swan looked back at him with a gentle smile.  “That would be very kind of you.  We’d love to accept.”

            “Awesome!”  Emmett swept out his hand to indicate his friends.  “Jazz and Eddie are riding with me, too, but there’s enough room for all of us.”  A sudden thought had a frown tugging at Emmett’s lips.  “Have you met Eddie?”

            Edward stepped forward.  “How many times have I told you not to call me ‘Eddie’, Emmett?  You know I hate that name.”

            “Yeah, that’s why I use it,” Emmett replied.  “Duh.”

            Edward scowled at his friend before shifting his attention to Swan.  “I’m Edward Cullen, at your service.”  He bowed his head briefly.  When he looked back up, his eyes were troubled.  “It seems I also owe you an apology, Miss Swan.  I, too, took Newton at his word.  I should have known better.  It wouldn’t be the first time he’s told his own version of the truth.”

            “I believe it,” Hale cut in.  “When I confronted him, he made it out like he said no to Bella, instead of the other way around.”  She glared at no one in particular.

            “It’s OK, Rose,” Swan calmed her friend.  “Mr. Cullen, I accept your apology, too.  Actually, I think I should apologize, as well.”  A flush of color climbed up Swan’s neck and she quickly looked away.  “I, ah, over-reacted a bit.”

            “Don’t blame yourself, Miss Swan.  I was completely in the wrong. “Edward captured her hand and Swan’s eyes flew to his.  Gazes locked, the two of them stared deeply into each other’s eyes.

            “Uh, Edward?  Knock it off, man.  You’re making everyone feel awkward,” Jasper spoke up, destroying the uncomfortable moment.  Smirking at Swan’s blush and Edward’s glare, he moved to stand in front of Brandon.  “Hey, I met your friends during the party, but I never ran into you.  I’m Jasper Whitlock.”

            She grinned broadly, hinting at a personality bigger than her tiny frame.  “Alice Brandon,” she said her voice rich with laughter.

            Jasper found himself genuinely smiling with laughter building in his chest.  “What?” he asked.  “What’s so funny?”

            “Just something I noticed.  Bella and Cullen, you and me…”

            Confused, he stepped closer.  “You and me... What?”

            “Nothing,” she grinned over at her friend.  “Rose, you should introduce yourself to McCarty.  I’m sure you two will have a ton of things to talk about.”

            Hale raised a perfectly arched brow back at Brandon before taking her advice.  “Rosalie Hale,” she said, holding out her hand to Emmett.

            Instead of shaking her hand, Emmett merely held it.  “Emmett McCarty,” he replied with a smile.

            Hale blinked slowly before muttering something about dimples.  Shaking her head slightly, she pulled her hand from Emmett’s grip and wrapped her arms around herself.  The action plumped up her already impressive chest, causing Emmett to nearly swallow his tongue.  “Can we get going?  No offense, but I really don’t want to be here any longer.”

            Her comment spurred the men into action.  “Why don’t you sit up front with me, Miss Hale, so you can give me directions?” Emmett asked, suavely, his hand hovering over the small of her back.  She glanced back at her friends, as though she was seeking their permission.  She must have received it, because she allowed Emmett to escort her over to the passenger side door.

            Brandon hopped in and slid into the rear-most seat with Jasper quickly sliding in next to her.

            Left with no other choice, Swan climbed into the middle section, picking the seat behind the passenger.  Edward climbed in afterwards to join her, shutting the door behind him.

            “Everyone in?” Emmett asked over his shoulder.  “Off we go!”  He grinned over at the woman sitting beside him.  “Where to, Miss Hale?”

            She smiled back.  “Please, call me Rosalie, and those are Bella and Alice back there.”  The girls in the back seats made sounds of general agreement.  “Do you know where Pine Grove apartments are?”

            Emmett searched his brain.  “Uh, no.  Sorry.”

            “It’s OK; do you know where Joe’s is?”

            Emmett searched again.  “No, sorry,” he winced.

            Alice leaned forward, resting her chin on Bella’s shoulder.  “Joe’s is kind of low-key, Rose.  Maybe he knows the hotel across the street.  What was it called?  Grande something?”

            “Palazzo,” Bella supplied.  “The Grande Palazzo, on Duncan Street.”

            “I know where that is!” Emmett exclaimed excitedly.

            “You should,” Edward snorted from his position behind Emmett.  “We were just there last weekend.”

            “Oh, yeah,” Jasper chimed in.  “That’s where we saw the police across the street.”  He turned to Alice.  “Didn’t you say that restaurant, Joe’s, was across the street?  Do you know why the cops were there?”

            “Sure do,” she laughed.  “It was because of us.”

            “It was _not_ because of us,” Rosalie said, turning in her seat.

            “Well, it was kind of because of us,” Alice argued back.

            “How could it have been because of you?” Emmett wanted to know.

            “It wasn’t!” Rosalie insisted.

            “Alice _and_ Rose are right,” Bella explained, cutting in.  “Some drunk at the bar fell in love with Rosalie’s body and came over to our table to flirt with her.”

            “Only he ended up assaulting her instead, so Rose broke his nose while I sprayed him with Mace and Bella destroyed his chance of having children,” Alice continued.

            “So the cops came and hauled his ass away, but it turned out Newton was his boss.  Inviting us to this party was supposed to be an apology for the way his employee acted,” Rosalie finished.

            “Some apology,” Edward said.

            “Tell me about it,” Rosalie complained.  “Between what happened to Bella and me…” she trailed off.  “Well, let’s just say we need an apology for this apology!”

            Silence descended on the occupants of the vehicle until Emmett spoke in an overly cheerful voice.  “Hey!  I got an idea!”

            Edward and Jasper groaned.  “What?” Bella wanted to know.

            “Emmett’s ideas are never good,” Edward shared.

            “They are, too!” Emmett protested.  “And this is an awesome idea.”

            Jasper sighed.  “What is it, Emmett?”

            “Well, Newton’s party ruined all of our nights, right?  And the girls look much too nice to just sit home and stew, so here’s my idea.  The six of us go out to dinner!”

            “Awesome!” Alice cheered.

            “Yeah, but this late at night, everything is going to be closed,” Rosalie said as the voice of reason.

            “Never fear!” Emmett assured her.  “I know a place that’s open late and has some of the best food in the area.”

            “Oh?  What’s it called?” Bella wanted to know.

            Edward echoed her.  “Yeah, Em, where are you talking about?”

            “It’s a surprise,” Emmett answered, using a singsong manner.  He continued to drive for ten more minutes, refusing to even hint at the final location, before pulling into an almost empty parking lot.  “We’re here!” he announced, cheerfully.

            Edward peered out the window.  “You’re joking.”

            “Nope.”  Emmett was already out of the driver’s seat and was bounding around the front of the car before anyone could reply.  Chivalrously, he opened Rosalie’s door and bowed.  “Your meal awaits, my lady.”

 After helping Bella out and leaving Jasper to assist Alice, Edward raced to Emmett’s side and grabbed the crook of the other man’s arm, dragging him back.  “Are you serious?” he hissed.  “You really took us to a Burger Barn?”

            “No, Edward,” Emmett rolled his eyes.  “I took you to a five-star restaurant.  It just has the same décor as BB.”

            As Emmett strolled back to Rosalie, Edward jogged back to Bella, Alice and Jasper.  “He’s not kidding,” he told Jasper, grimly.

            Jasper shook his head.  “That idiot…”

            “Allie, Bells, are you guy coming?” Rosalie called from where she stood with Emmett.

            “Coming, Rose!” Alice called back.  She took off and, after offering them a small smile, Bella followed her.  “Hey,” Alice continued to talk, “you think they’re still serving Moo-Moo Shakes?”

            Edward pinched the bridge of his nose.  “What was he thinking?”

            “Lighten up, Edward,” Jasper chastised.  “The girls don’t seem to mind.”

            “That’s true,” he agreed, gazing at Bella, who was smiling at her diminutive friend as the tiny woman spoke ninety words a minute.

            The two men stood side by side in silence.  Finally, Jasper clapped Edward on the shoulder.  “We should go catch up.”

            The two of them joined the group.  Edward moved to stand closer to Bella and was rewarded with another soft smile.

            Jasper, he noted, was listening to Alice’s incessant chatter with a look of bemused adoration on his face.  “I love the shakes here,” she was gushing.  “Especially the chocolate.”

            “Well, I’ll have to make sure you get one, then,” Jazz promised her.

            Emmett yelled at them from his position by the door with Rosalie.  “C’mon, you four, let’s go!”

            Alice grabbed Jasper’s hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world and took off, leaving Bella behind with Edward.  “Well, shall we?” she asked before turning away and walking off at a much more sedate pace.

 

***      ***      ***

 

            Thirty minutes later, the six of them sat in a nearly empty restaurant.  “I can’t believe they were out of chocolate,” Alice was grousing.

            “Well,” Bella said soothingly, “it _is_ rather late.  They’re probably putting things away and cleaning up for the night.”

            “If you want a chocolate milkshake so badly, you can make one when you get home,” Rosalie added.

            Alice pouted.  “It’s not the same.”  She took a long draw on her vanilla shake.

            “So,” Emmett asked from his seat next to Rosalie, “you girls all live together?”

            “Are you kidding?” Rosalie replied, incredulously.  “We’d kill each other.”

            “We’re neighbors,” Alice informed him.  “We did the whole roommate thing in college.  It was cool, but we learned we were all much happier with our own places.”

            “Is that where you met?  In college?” Jasper wanted to know.

            “Nah,” Alice indicated each of her friends with the straw of her shake.  “Bells, Rose and I have known each other since kindergarten.  We grew up together.”

            “You knew each other growing up, went to college together, and know you’re neighbors?”  Edward questioned.  “That’s amazing.”

            “Well, I moved away for a few years,” Bella said.  “But yeah, we’ve known each other a long, long time.

            “What about you three?  How do you know each other?”

            “We met in college,” Edward answered.

            “Bonded over kegs of beer and video games,” Emmett laughed.  “Course, now we’re respectable adults, so all night gaming sessions are a thing of the past.”  He leaned over to confide in Alice, “Of course, I think that’s their excuse.  They’ve let their skills get all rusty and are afraid I’ll kick their ass.”

            “Please,” Edward rolled his eyes.  “Like you could ever beat me at video games.”

            Emmett leaned over the table, his finger in Edward’s face.  “I _creamed_ you the last time we played!”

            Edward pushed Emmett’s finger away.  “That’s because you cheated.”

            “I never--”

            “You sat on me!”  Edward folded his arms over his chest.  “And you kicked Jasper in the back of the head.”

            Rosalie winced.  “Ouch.”

            Jasper rubbed the back of his head.  “You’re telling me.  Guy’s got a kick like a mule.”

            “It was an accident!” Emmett protested.

            “It still hurt!” Jasper accused.

            “Aw, poor baby.”  Alice pouted and rubbed Jasper’s arm before laughingly turning on her friend.  “Hey, Bells, you should probably stay away from McCarty, then.  The last thing you need help with is getting bruised up.”

            “Ha-ha,” Bella replied dryly, tossing a fry at the other girl.  “Actually, he sounds about as competitive as Rose.  Remember that time we were playing basketball in gym class and she de-panted a guy?”

            Alice started choking on her milkshake.  “Oh my god, yes!  And he was wearing those tidy whities…”  She quit in order to breath.

            “You pulled some guy’s pants down?” Emmett asked, staring at Rosalie.

            She shrugged.  “It was no big deal.”

            “No big deal!” Bella asked.  “He didn’t come back to school for a week!”

            “Hey, I was more traumatized then he was,” Rosalie defended.  “I was the lucky one that got to see the skid marks all over the back.”  She shuddered in disgust.

            “Ugh,” Alice pulled a face.  “Rose, I’m trying to eat here.”

            Bella pushed the remainder of her food away.  “I’m done,” she grimaced.

            Rosalie snagged a fry and grinned at her friend, causing Emmett to break into booming laughter.  “That’s my kind of girl!” he laughed.

            After Emmett calmed down, the sound of Alice finishing her milkshake sounded.  “Well,” she said, pushing back from the table, “I’m heading to the restroom.  Rose?  Bells?”  She and her two friends headed toward the back of the restaurant.

            Emmett watched them go with a particular look on his face.  “Why do girls always do that?” he wanted to know.  “Go to the bathroom in groups?”

            “So they can talk about us without waiting until they’re home,” Jasper said matter-of-factly.  He tilted his chair back.  “Coming on a little strong there, weren’t you, Em?”  He spun a fry mindlessly between his thumb and index finger.

            “Whaddya mean?”

            “Nothing.  Just that you’ve made your interest in Miss Hale very obvious.”

            “So?”  Em shrugged.  “She’s a gorgeous lady.  Can you blame me?  Besides, I wasn’t coming on any stronger with Rosalie then you were with her little friend.”

            Edward gave a little laugh as Jasper let his chair drop forward with a scowl on his face.  “He’s got you there, Jazz.  Every time I looked up, you were gazing at Brandon like she hung the moon in the sky.”

            “Yeah, well, you weren’t exactly shooting daggers at Swan there, Cullen,” Jasper told him.

            “You’re imagining things,” Edward huffed.

            “Sure I am.”  The grin on Jasper’s face broadcasted his thoughts clearly.

            The three boys sat in silence until the girls returned.  “It’s getting late.  We should really be heading back home,” Bella decided, lifting a hand to cover her yawn.

 

            After disposing of their trays, the six of them piled back into Emmett’s Escalade.  A short drive later and Emmett pulled up in front of the girls’ apartment complex.  As they all congregated on the sidewalk in front of the door, he made his move.    “Hey, Rosalie.”  He waited until she looked up at him.  “I was thinking that maybe we could get together again sometime.”

            “Yeah, we could all get together, like a group thing,” Jasper quickly added, laying his hand lightly on Alice’s shoulder and ignoring the glare Emmett was sending his way.

            “Sure!  That sounds like fun!” Alice beamed.  “Doesn’t it, Rose?  Bella?”

            “Sure,” Rose answered with a sardonic smile.

            Both girls turned their sights on Bella, who had the appearance of a deer caught in the headlights of her two best friends.  “Sure,” she murmured.  “Fun.”

            “Great!”  Alice quickly whipped out a pen and snagged Jasper’s hand.  “This is my number,” she explained as she scribbled on his palm.  “Give me a call sometime, Kay?”

            Jasper gazed down at the tiny, energetic woman with the same look of bemused adoration he had been bestowing upon her all night.  “Count on it,” he promised her.

            “It’s a date, then,” Rosalie said.  “Now, if you’ll excuse us, Bella and I have to get the hummingbird here inside before she crashes.”

            As the girls headed inside, the guys sent them off with a chorus of ‘good nights’ before heading back to Emmett’s Escalade.  After pulling away from the curb and starting down the street, Emmett let out a gusty sigh.  “What a night,” he declared.  “Started out like crap, but sure ended well.  I’ve got a date with the most gorgeous gal I’ve ever seen.”  He threw a glare in Jasper’s direction.  “Or at least I would have had one, if the cock-blocker back there hadn’t turned it into a group thing.”

            “You should be kissing my ass instead of ragging on it, bro,” Jasper shot back.  “I’m the only reason you got that date with Hale.”

            “Oh?  And how do you figure that?”

            Jasper snorted.  “Look, those girls were at the same party we were and were probably getting propositioned all night long.  The last thing they’re going to want to do is go out with a guy they just met, but they’ll feel safer in a group with friends.  Besides, there’s only one guy in this car that ended up with a phone number, and it wasn’t you.”  Emmett growled something at the windshield.  “Don’t pout, buddy,” Jasper comforted, leaning forward to gently punch his bigger friend.  “Look at it this way, even if things don’t work out with Hale, at least you’ll be able to rub Newton’s face in it.”

            The thought lifted Emmett’s mood considerably.


	7. Google

            Due to the knowledge that it was the middle of the night and most people would be tucked into bed, Alice waited until the three of them were safely ensconced in Rosalie’s apartment before letting go with an earsplitting squeal.

            “Jesus Christ, Allie!”  Bella twisted her pinkie in her ear.  “Warn me before you call for your canine friends.”

            “I would say something sarcastic here, but I’m just too excited!”  She danced around Rosalie’s coffee table before dropping onto the couch.

            “Excited?  You?  No,” drawled Rose.

            “Oh, S-T-F-U, Rose.”  Alice grinned as she practically vibrated on the sofa.  “Even you and your mighty powers of bitchiness can’t bring me down.  I’ve just met the man I’m going to marry.”

            “He proposed?” Rose quipped.  “Man, the stuff you miss when you sit in the front seat.”

            “Hardee-har-har.”  Alice went quiet, but couldn’t maintain her silence for long before bursting out excitedly, “and he asked me for a date!  True, it was a group date, but it’s still a date!”

            “Well, have fun with that.”  Bella levered herself off the chair and headed for the door.

            Alice appeared stricken.  “Bella!  You can’t bail on this!  You’ve got to come!”

            Bella dropped her forehead against the door before pivoting and leaning against it.  She gazed at her friends from under half lowered lids.  “Come on, Allie.  You’ll be with Whitlock, Rose will be with McCarty, and I have no desire to be a third wheel.”  One corner of her mouth kicked up.  “Or a fifth wheel, as the case may be.”

            Rosalie crossed her legs and absent-mindedly tugged on her hemline.  “Please, Bells.  We went over this in the bathroom.  Cullen stuck to you like glue all evening.”

            Bella snorted.  “Yeah, after he glared at me like I was the cause of every calamity from world wars to his favorite pet dying.  His mood swings were giving me whiplash.”

            Rosalie shook her head sadly.  “Bella, Bella, Bella,” she chanted.  “Have I taught you _nothing_?  Men are frail, fragile beings that must be treated with the utmost care least you bruise their tender egos.  Cullen was upset because he thought you were doing the nasty with Newton.”  All three girls curled their lips in disgust.

            “Besides, Bella,” Alice took up the conversation.  “Edward seems like a really nice guy.  I mean, Emmett and Jasper are best friends with him, so that’s got to be a point in his favor.”

            “All right, all right,” Bella chuckled.  “If they call, I’ll go.”

            “Yes!” Alice pumped her fist in an exaggerated manner.  “Bella’s on board!”

            “Well, since we’re all in agreement,” Rosalie pushed to her feet and regarded her friends with a smirk, “get the hell out of my place.”

            “Oh, fine,” Alice grumbled good-naturedly.  She crossed the room to where Bella was holding the door open.  The three friends exchanged wishes for a good night before Alice and Bella closed the door and started down the hallway.

            “Well, well, well,” a disagreeable voice sounded from behind the two girls, causing them to stop and turn warily towards the speaker.  A tall, fit man leaned negligently against the wall beside the first apartment door, his dirty blonde hair pulled back in a stubby ponytail and a cigarette dangling from lips curled into a cruel smile.  He straightened and strolled toward them.  “You two look good enough to eat.”  He removed the cigarette from his lips and inhaled deeply through his nose.  “Mmm hmm,” he breathed.  “Like a couple of tasty snacks.”

            “James.”  The high-pitched, little girl voice sounded from the direction James had just vacated.  A woman stood in the doorway wearing a black lace teddy, her fire-red curls tumbling down around her shoulders.  She crooked her finger at him.  “Why don’t you come on back here, hmm?”  Tossing another cruel smile at Alice and Bella, James strolled back to the apartment, giving the woman in the doorway an obvious once-over before disappearing inside.  The woman leaned against the door jam.  “What the fuck are you two dressed up for?  Pretending you’ve got a life?”

            “Oh, ouch, Victoria,” Bella deadpanned.  “That hurt.”

            “Yeah, you really got us,” Alice thumped herself on the chest, “right here.”

            “Whatever, fuckwits.  Just don’t let me catch you eyeing James again.  He’s mine.”  She returned inside, slamming the door behind her.

            “Oh, dear,” Bella continued in her monotone.  “No chance at James the slime ball?  How will I continue to live with no hope?”

            Alice snorted.  “Three floors of apartments, and she has to move into the one vacant apartment on our floor.  Why did Angie have to move?”

            “She got married,” Bella reminded her.

            “Yeah, but Ben could have moved in with her.  I like him, so it would’ve still been cool.”

            “Alice, Ben has a house.  Why in the world would the two of them choose her apartment over Ben’s house?” Bella said as the voice of reason.

            “Oh, shut up,” Alice griped.  “I can fantasize, can’t I?”

            “Sure, Allie,” Bella laughed.  “Well, I’m going turn in.  I’ll see you in the morning.”

            “Yeah, see you.”  Alice watched her friend head into her apartment before entering her own.  As she headed back to her bedroom, she snagged the sketchpad off the couch.  All the different dresses she’d seen at the party had given her some ideas.

 

***      ***      ***

 

            Two days later, and the much-anticipated phone call still had not happened.  Alice sighed as she checked her phone for the two millionth time that morning.  After staying up until an insane hour in order to get all her ideas on paper, Rosalie, Bella and she had spent a lazy weekend.  They’d given each other home manicures, slathered their faces and hair with good smelling goop and had ogled the male leads in chick flicks.  They’d flipped through fashion magazines and played ‘If Only’.  Caving to Bella’s demands of compensation, Alice and Rosalie had grudgingly accompanied her to the new exhibit at the museum and the three of them spent an afternoon ogling reproductions of Greek statues.

            Unfortunately, Monday returned despite Alice’s fervent prayers.  She checked her cell one more time before placing it back into the locker housing her personal items.

            “Waiting for a phone call?” Makenna asked from the next locker.  “Let me guess, it’s a guy.”  She shut her locker and leaned against it, facing Alice.  “Good luck, dear.  I’ve been dating Charles for two years and he _still_ doesn’t call when he says he will.”

            Alice laughed.  “You’re right.  I know you are.  It’s just… I _really_ like this guy.”  She shrugged good-naturedly.  “Still, I suppose it doesn’t matter how much I like him.  He’s the one with the phone number.”  Alice closed the locker door and locked it.  “So, how’s Chaz’s granddad doing?”

            This time it was Makenna’s turn to shrug.  “Same old, same old.”  She smiled sadly.  “Alistair thinks he’s back in the war.  He spent Sunday thinking Charles was his son and trying to convince him he needed to send his wife and child to the country for safety.”

            “Poor old guy,” Alice said softly.

            Makenna drew in a shaky breath.  “Yeah, it’s been… hard.”  She pasted a bright smile on her face as an obvious attempt to mask her own turmoil.  “So, tell me about this guy.  Is he cute?”

            Alice reached over and squeezed her friend’s arm before answering.  “Well, remember that party I told you I was going to?”

            “With Rosalie and Bella?” Makenna confirmed.  “How are they by the way?”

            “They’re cool.  Anyway, the party was a total wash, but we met three really cool guys.  When we ditched the party we ran into some trouble with our cell phones, and the guys gave us a lift.  We went out to eat and then they dropped us off in front of our building.  Then, before they left, we talked about the six of us getting together again, and I gave my number to the cutest one.”  Alice tried to stare at her cell phone through the closed locker door.  “Unfortunately, I haven’t heard a peep since he and his friends dropped us off.”

            “Oh, bummer.  Maybe he’ll call this evening.”

            “I hope so.”

            Makenna smiled at Alice’s wistful tone.  “What did this guy look like, anyway?”

            “Oh, god.”  Alice fanned herself.  “He has this longish blonde hair that comes down in curls and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.  And he has this really faint southern drawl…” she sighed, “so sexy.  He reminds me of one of those old time cowboys.  You know the kind.”  Alice affected a pose and tipped an imaginary hat before drawling, “Ma’am.”

            The other woman laughed.  “And the other two?  What about them?”

            “There was this one guy, Emmett, which picked on Rosalie right away.  He’s built like a linebacker, but he has the cutest curls and dimples.  Plus, he was tons of fun in the little bit of time we spent with him.

            “The other guy, Edward, was pretty cute, too.  He’s got killer green eyes and this really unusual reddish-brown hair.  More like a bronze color.  Bella’s doing the usual and over-thinking the whole thing, but he’s totally stuck on her.”

            “Good for you guys.” Makenna cheered.  “Tell me, have you Googled him yet?”

            “Googled?”  Alice looked blankly at her co-worker for a moment.  “Oh my god, no!  I was so bummed about him not calling that I never even thought about Googling him!”

            “Alice!  You’ve got to Google him!” Makenna chastised.  “It won’t matter how cute he is if he turns out to be some kind of freak!”

            “I’ll do it right now,” Alice promised, diving for her locker.

            Before she could wrest it open, the sound of a throat being cleared came from the doorway.  “Work cutting into your social hour, ladies?”

            Alice stepped away from her locker to answer her boss.  “No, Mr. Tomlinson.”

            Makenna stepped forward.  “We were just on our way out to the floor.”

            “Mmm hmm,” Tomlinson gave them an arched look.  “Brandon, you’re going to have to cover Miss Peyton’s section today.”

            “What?” Alice asked in exasperation.  “Why can’t Megan cover her own section?”

            “Miss Peyton called in sick today.”  Tomlinson tapped his watch.  “Tick tock, ladies.  Better get out onto that floor and get to work.”

            Alice turned her face towards Makenna slightly and mouthed a dirty word.  Her friend replied with an exaggerated eye roll and mouthed, “I know,” before turning and heading out of the employee break room.

            Alice looked longingly at her cell phone hidden away in her locker before following Makenna out.

 

***      ***      ***

 

            Long hours later, Alice dragged her sore, exhausted body back into her little apartment.  She collapsed into her over-stuffed armchair and regarded the ceiling as she plotted various ways to murder Megan, Tomlinson and various customers.  “Megan’s sick,” she mocked to her ceiling.  She groaned loudly.  “One day, I’m going be a multi-gazillionaire and I’m going to build a spa right on top of Fashion Emporium.”  She groaned again before leaving the comfort of her armchair to retrieve her laptop.  After returning to her chair, she quickly flipped through her usual pages of emails, blogs and stores before heading to the search engine to type in the name of her quarry.  Link after link popped up, bearing information on Jasper Whitlock.  She clicked on the on the first one and quickly skimmed the accompanying article.

 

**_Whitlock, Cullen and McCarty join forces for charity._ **

 

            The photo beside the article showed three familiar men standing in front of a hospital.  Alice backtracked and clicked on the second link.

 

**_Whitlock, Cullen and McCarty unveil new military aid equipment._ **

 

            Again, the photo showed the trio.  This time, they were posed with a five men in military uniforms.  Again, she backtracked before sitting back and simply skimming the links.

 

**_Whitlock Enterprise develops technology to be used in smart house._ **

**_Whitlock Enterprise lands 2.4 billion dollar military contract._ **

**_Software created by Whitlock Enterprise exposes criminal hacker ring._ **

****

            Searching for information on the other two men brought up similar headlines.

 

**_McCarty reveals Charioteer’s newest hybrid vehicles._ **

**_New hospitals to be built by the Cullen Group in several third-world countries._ **

**_The Charioteer Phoenix named Car of the Year by Motor Trend Magazine._ **

**_The Cullen Group’s achievements recognized at this year’s Medical Conference._ **

**_McCarty, Cullen and Whitlock named as America’s Most Eligible Bachelors._ **

****

            Alice sat in stunned silence.  Calmly, she moved her laptop to the side before scrambling like mad for her cell phone.  She sent an urgent text message to her friends before returning to the internet.  She was still reading the various links when Rosalie and Bella burst in.

            “What is it?” Rosalie wanted to know.  “What happened?”

            “This!”  Alice clicked on the last link.  A large picture filled the screen showing Edward Cullen, Emmett McCarty and Jasper Whitlock in tuxedos standing on a red carpet.  A header blared in large, bold letters, “America’s Most Eligible Bachelors!!”

            “Oh, my god,” Bella breathed.

            “Tell me about it,” Alice agreed.  “I mean, I knew McCarty was a big deal, but…”

            “Wait,” Rosalie interrupted.  “What?”

            “Didn’t I tell you?” asked Alice.

            “No, tell me what?”

            “Emmett McCarty is the C.E.O. of Charioteer,” Alice informed her.  “You know, they made that car that won…”

            “I know who Charioteer is!” Rosalie cut her off.

            “OK, no need to get pissy at me,” Alice groused.

            “I’m pissy at you because you knew who he was, you know how I am and you still didn’t feel the need to share the information with me!”

            “Well, why didn’t you know who he was without me having to tell you?” Alice fired back.

            “Because when I was with him, I wasn’t thinking about cars!”

            “Guys!” Bella cut in, “Settle down!  Besides, I think it’s pretty obvious now that we can’t date them, so it doesn’t even matter.”

            Rosalie and Alice regarded their friend as if she had just announced the earth was flat.  Rosalie recovered first, enough to ask, “Why not?”

            “Um, hello?”  Bella waved on hand high above her head.  “America’s most eligible bachelors.”  She waved her second hand near the vicinity of her hip.  “A librarian, a mechanic and a salesgirl.  Not exactly a lot of common ground there.”

            “Way to make us feel like winners, Bells.” Alice said grimly.

            “I don’t care if he’s one of America’s most eligible bachelors or a fry cook at the Burger Barn,” Rosalie stated.   “If Emmett calls, I’m going on a date with him.”

            “Me, too,” Alice agreed.

            “I don’t know,” Bella argued.  “Think about it.  These guys are rich and handsome.  They can have any woman they want.  Movie stars, models, heiresses… anyone!  So why would they want us?  Not that we aren‘t great, but… we don‘t exactly run in the same social circles.”

            “They wanted to hang out with us at the party,” Rosalie argued back, this time sounding a lot less certain.

            “What were their other choices?” Bella asked.  “Face it; if we weren’t pity dates, then we were dates of opportunity.”

            “Bella!” Alice exclaimed, shocked.  She had never heard her friend talk like that.

            “Anyway, it doesn’t matter,” Bella rolled over her friend’s protest.  “It’s been three days and we haven’t heard a peep from them.  I think that pretty much sums it up.

            “Now, I’ve had a long day and I’m tired.  I’m going to bed.  I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”  Bella exited Alice’s apartment, leaving her two friends to stare after her in mute shock.

            “What do you think, Rose?” Alice asked quietly.  “Is she right?”

            Rosalie plowed a hand through her hair.  “I don’t know.  I want to say no, but it _has_ been three days.”  She shook her head.  “I don’t know, Allie.”  Rosalie swept her hand through her hair again before setting her hands on her hips and staring pensively into space.  “She is right about one thing, though,” she declared.  She smiled wearily at Alice.  “It’s been a long day and I’m tired.  I’m heading off to bed.  It’s useless to worry about things unless they actually call.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

            “See you,” Alice replied absent-mindedly as the other girl departed.  She preformed her normal bedtime routine, taking off her make-up and cleaning her face, before putting on her pajamas and crawling into bed.  Once there, she turned off her bedside lamp.  Instead of going to sleep however, she stared broodingly at the silent cell phone sitting on the night table.  For the first time that weekend, she wondered if she wanted it to ring at all.


	8. For Whom the Phone Rings

            Jasper strode through the long halls, slightly irritated by the technician hurrying along beside him.  Eric Yorkie was the kind of man who had spent the majority of his school years being forcefully shoved into lockers.  Not the best companion for someone who was already in a foul mood.  As Yorkie’s greasy, slicked-back head bobbed in and out of his peripheral vision, Jasper stealthily scanned the hallway.  Not a locker in sight.  Not that he actually would have done anything.  Of course, that was a lot easier to believe since he _couldn’t_ do anything…

            “Um, Mr. Whitlock, sir?”

            His attention was recaptured by the timid voice of the young man at his elbow.  “Yes, Yorkie?”

            “Well, sir, we’ve managed to fix the bug in the program and were just about to run the final diagnostic before taking it on a test run.  I thought you’d probably like to be present, so I went to Ms. Collins as soon as I came in this morning.  Only, she said you were unavailable.”

            Jasper ignored the spastic twitching at the corner of his eye and strove to speak calmly.  “Yes, I’ve been occupied all day.”

            “Oh, well I just wanted to make sure you understood, that is, if you were questioning why we waited…”

            “I understand,” Jasper inserted into Yorkie’s waiting pause.  _I understand I would really enjoy holding your head in a toilet and flushing._   He stopped by the doorway to the computer lab and gestured to Yorkie to proceed ahead of him.  As he entered on the slighter man’s heels, the small team of men ceased their low conversation.  “All right, then,” Jasper said.  “What are we looking at?”

            “Well, sir, as I was saying before, we believe we’ve isolated the component that was…”

            Jasper listened to the other man’s words as the code ran across the screen.  He watched with a practiced eye as Yorkie and the other techs ran through the system, checking various bits.  At the end of the run, Yorkie spoke up.  “Everything looks good, sir.”

            “Good job, everyone,” Jasper complimented the team.  “Let’s proceed to the next step.”   He exited the lab, heading down the long white hallway towards his office.  His secretary, Anna Collins, looked up as he entered.  She was an older woman with iron gray hair, a long, pinched face, and a stern expression that was known to have sent lesser men cowering from the office.  “Hello, Ms. Collins,” Jasper greeted her as he entered.  “Any messages?”

            “Hello, Mr. Whitlock.”  She smiled warmly at him.  “Did you really think you would get through a day without any messages?”

            He smiled back at her.  “I can hope.  I took care of Yorkie.  I hope he didn’t give you to much trouble.”

            Her smiled vanished and her lips pinched as if she had just placed a lemon wedge in her mouth and began to suck.  “He tried to push, but I made it clear you would get to him when your schedule allowed and not a moment sooner.”

            “Good,” he approved before heading into his office.  Ms. Collins followed  him in, allowing him to situate himself behind his desk before reading off his messages.

            “Ms. Mallory called again.  She was most insistent that she speak with you.  When I explained you were not available, she became quite… vocal.”

            Jasper raised his brows at her choice of words.  “If she calls again,” he began, then amended, “ _when_ she calls again, note the number.  Then, get in touch with the legal department.  Have them put together something that will get her to cease and desist.  Also, pass word to the rest of the secretarial staff to ignore any communications from her.”

            “Yes, sir,” she replied, jotting down his orders.  “Secondly, Mr. Jenks called.  He needs to reschedule your two-thirty.  If you could let me know when would be the best time for you, I’ll set up another meeting.

            “Lastly, Mr. McCarty requested that you contact him as soon as possible.”

            “I’ll get in touch with him shortly,” he informed her.  “Anything else?”

            “No, sir.  That was everything.”

            “Good, I’ll get you those times for Jenks in a moment.”  She nodded and was in the process of leaving his office when he stopped her.  “And Ms. Collins?”  He waited until she turned back around.  “How many times has Ms. Mallory been ‘vocal’ with you?”  She opened her mouth, but Jasper smoothly continued, “please inform me immediately should such a situation occur again.  I’m not paying you to be verbally abused by my irate exes.”

            The older woman smiled at him.  “I will, sir, but don’t worry about it.  It’ll take more than a bratty peroxide-blonde to unnerve me.”

            Jasper laughed.  “I’m sure.  Thank you, Ms. Collins.”  After she left, he quickly ran through his calendar, noting the times he had free.  After sending an e-mail to Ms. Collins, he called Emmett.

            “Hey, Jazz,” Emmett answered.  “S’up?”

            “Hey,” Jasper replied.  “You called me.  What for?”

            “Huh.  Oh, yeah!”  Emmett’s voice increased in volume.  “You never called me!  What did they say?”

            “Who?”

            “The _girls_ , Jazz!  You know, the gorgeous blonde goddess and her friends?  One of who gave you her number after you acted like you wanted to put her in your pocket and carry her around with you?”

            “Oh, yeah.”  Jasper closed his eyes in embarrassment, not looking forward to the rest of the conversation.  “You know, I actually haven’t called her yet.”

            “WHAT!?!”

            Jasper jerked the phone away from his ear as Emmett’s deep voice blasted through the receiver.  “Damn it, Emmett…”

            “What do you mean you haven’t called?  Why not?  What the hell is wrong with you, boy?  If you’re not interested anymore, the least you could have done was pass the ball to me!  I mean, shit, Jazz!”

            “Would you just shut up for a minute?” Jasper barked into the phone, cutting off Emmett’s stream of accusations.  “Look, something came up over the weekend, ok?“  A vision of Maria’s gorgeous, devious face filled his mind.  “So no, I didn’t call her, all right?”

            “No, man, not all right!  You obviously flunked the phone section on how to deal with women.  You let the entire weekend go by without calling her.  Now they probably think we’re not interested.”

            Jasper groaned.  “I’ll call her tonight.”  His voice turned sarcastic.  “Will that be ok, Mr. McCarty?  Or should I show up at her door with roses and chocolate?”

            “You might have to, dude,” Emmett replied, serious.  “You made them think we weren’t interested.  If you call acting like they weren’t important enough to get back to before now, they might tell us to go to hell out of spite.  In which case, I would have to kill you.”

            Jasper massaged the knotted muscles at the back of his neck.  “I don’t think they’re the kind of girls to do that, Em.”

            “Who knows?  Women are funny that way.  I mean, my secretary comes in sniffling over what some guy has done to her at least once a month.  One time I tried telling her to go out and forget about him, and she damn near flooded my office crying about how much she loved him!  I had to pat her back and shit.  It was awkward and I didn’t like it.”

            Jasper smiled and, with difficulty, resisted teasing Emmett about his soft heart.  “Emmett, I’ll call her tonight.  I promise you that if she starts to tell me to piss off, I’ll grovel accordingly.  Does that sound good to you?”

            “I guess it’s going to have to do.”  Emmett was silent before asking the question that Jasper had been dreading.  “So, what happened?”

            “What?”

            “You said you had something come up this past weekend.  What was it?”

            Jasper rubbed his eye with the knuckle of his index finger.  “I heard from Maria.  It was nothing.”

            On the other end of the phone, Emmett cursed.  “That opportunistic, she-devil of a bitch!  What the hell did she want?”

            Jasper sighed.  “What else?  The same thing she always wants.  Don’t worry, Em, I dealt with it.”

            “Hey, Jazz?” Emmett’s voice was serious.  “Promise me something?”

            “Like what?”

            “Promise me you’ll ask for help if you need it.  None of this lone wolf  bullshit.  ‘Cause, you know, Eddie and I are here for you, if you need us.“

            The fact that Emmett, who so seldom expressed serious emotion, said this was both a source of solace for Jasper and a source of acute embarrassment.  He cleared his throat in the awkward silence.  “Yeah, I promise.”

            “Right on.  Let me know when you call the girls, and good luck, bro, on both counts.”

            Jasper hung up and sat back to stare at the phone.

 

***      ***      ***

 

            Later that evening, Jasper sat on his couch, locked in a staring contest with the blank face of his phone.  Shortly after he had arrived home, Emmett had sent him an urgent text message reminding him of their earlier conversation.  As if he could have forgotten it.  Quitting a losing battle, Jasper broke off with a groan and leaned his head back and closed his eyes.  Immediately, a face floated through his memory.  Maria’s mocha colored curls tumbled around a face with skin the color of café au lait.  Her black eyes stored secrets and her full lips smirked cruelly.  The vision quickly wavered and was replaced by another face.  This one was narrower and paler and the jet-black hair was short, but the hazel eyes sparkled with vivaciousness and the lips parted in a wide, open smile.  Jasper smiled in response before opening his eyes.  Leaning forward, he scooped his phone off the table.  He punched in her number and pushed SEND.  After two or three rings, it was answered with a sleepy, “Mmm, m’ello?”

            “Alice?  It’s Jasper, Jasper Whitlock.”  A long, uncomfortable silence had him stuttering out, “From the party a couple days ago?”

            “I remember,” she said, softly.

            “I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you before now.  I had some things come up.  I hope you’re not too angry.”

            “I was really upset when I didn’t hear from you, Jasper.  I really liked you.”

            Jasper tensed at her use of the past tense.  “But…?”

            On the other end, Alice sighed.  “Nothing.  I’m glad you called.”

            “I’m glad, too.  Again, I’m really sorry about not calling you this weekend.  Something really did come up.”

            Alice laughed lightly.  “I believe you, Jasper.  Besides you’re calling now.”

            He felt the tension ease out of his chest in relief.  “Yeah, I am.  Listen, Alice, I’d really like to see you again.”

            “That sounds great.  Maybe the six of us can get together this weekend?  Of course, I have to make sure Rosalie and Bella don’t have anything planned.  But I know they’ll be really excited about seeing Emmett and Edward.”

            “Great,” Jasper said brightly, thrilled that she hadn‘t put him through much of a ringer.  “I know Emmett and Edward are excited about seeing them, too.”

            “Awesome!  Maybe we can go to the movies or something.”

            “Yeah, that sounds like fun.  I’ll have to see what Emmett and Edward have open before we make any definite plans.”

            “Yeah, I figured.”  Alice’s unsuccessfully concealed yawn had Jasper checking the time.

            “Shit!  I didn’t realize it was so late.  I’m sorry, Alice.”

            “It’s OK.  I normally wouldn’t be so tired, but I had a really long day today,” she admitted.  “I hate to say this, but…”

            “Don’t worry about it,” he assured her.  “Go back to bed and I’ll talk to you later.”

            “All right.  Night, Jasper.”

            “Good-night, Alice.”  Jasper ended the phone call feeling a hundred times better than when he had started it.  He shot off a quick text message to Emmett and Edward, letting them know all was well and that he would talk to them tomorrow before heading to his bedroom.  He’d dropped his pants on the floor and was in the act of shucking the rest of clothes when cell phone rang yet again.  “Son of a…” he muttered.  Standing in the middle of his bedroom, he tiredly answered the insistent ringing.  “Hello, Peter.  What’s up?”

            “Hey, I’m just, you know, checking in.  Seeing if there are any updates.  Anything I can do.”

            “Not yet,” Jasper informed him.  “I’m just getting things in motion.  I promise I’ll let you know if there’s anything I need you to help me with.”  In the background, Jasper could hear Charlotte calling for her husband.  “Go to bed, Peter.  I’ll talk to you later.”

            “If you say so.  Talk to you later, Jazz.”

 

***      ***      ***

 

            Due to pressure he’d been under, it came as no surprise when dreams invaded his sleep.  _Suddenly, he was a teenager again, running the streets.  His beloved bike, long gone now, was purring under him as he raced down the road with the wind in his hair and Maria’s arms tight around his waist.  He turned his head and was able to see Peter chasing after him with a good-natured smile on his face.  He felt invincible again.  Capable of taking on the world and winning.  He stopped by a corner and revved the bike’s engine loudly.  Maria’s smoky, sultry laughter sounded in his ears.  “Let’s go again, mi amore,” she urged.  “Let’s keep riding.”_

_The scene shifted around him and suddenly, a concerned Peter was beside him with an equally upset Charlotte at his elbow.  “We’ve got to go, Jazz,” Peter told him.  “The ride is over.  It’s time to go.”_

_“No!”  Maria’s arms tightened around him.  “Let’s keep riding, Jasper.  I want to keep riding forever.”_

_Forming from the mist, Edward and Emmett stepped in behind Peter and Charlotte.  “Come on, Jazz,” Emmett pressed.  “You know you can’t keep going.”_

_“It’s time to quit riding, Jazz,” Edward agreed.  “We’re waiting for you.”_

_Jasper had slid off the bike when Maria’s blood-red nails lashed out and pinned his hands to the handlebars.  “NO!” she screamed.  “I won’t let you.”  She dug her nails into the back of his hands, causing blood to well up and spill over.  “You won’t forget me, Jasper Whitlock,” she hissed, evilly.  “I won’t let you.”  Jasper braced for the inevitably conclusion to the dream, where Maria sucked him down into the pit where his father waited for him.  Instead, slim hands slid into his view and forced Maria to release him._

_Startled, Jasper looked down into Alice’s laughing hazel eyes.  “It’s time to go, Jasper,” she said, sweetly.  “I’m waiting for you.  You’ve kept me waiting such a long time.“  She stepped back and held one small hand out to him.  “Don’t make me wait any longer.”  Without a backward glance to Maria who was still shrieking, Jasper grasped the hand Alice offered him._

            In the middle of the night, Jasper rolled over and sighed.  “Alice.”


End file.
